Empire City Requiem
by DragonlordRynn
Summary: Empire's back on the track and everything could be great. Until Cole finds a dead guy who is missing his spine. Quickly realizing that this was just the beginning, the Electric Man suddenly finds himself in a life-threatening cat-and-mouse game. Now Complete.
1. Empire reborn

**Author: I always wanted to write an inFAMOUS story. After I sat down and watched all six hours of inFAMOUS gameplay (because I don't have a PS3), I felt I was ready to do this.**

 **I might have made a few grammar mistakes, though I tried to keep the amount of logical mistakes as small as possible. Still, I have taken some liberties regarding Cole's abilities and especially his weaknesses. Otherwise, I hope I got his character right, at least regarding to what I've seen in both the game and the comic. If you see mistakes, feel free to write a review or a PM, though I have to ask you to keep flaming to yourself. If you don't like something, tell me like a civilised person instead of hating on it.**

 **This story is set after inFAMOUS and the inFAMOUS comic series from DC.**

 **I don't own any of the characters.**

* * *

Empire reborn

Cole's knees where shaking with the effort he used. He felt sweat trickle down his brows and neck, but couldn't wipe it away. He couldn't move a single muscle, and that was exactly what was so exertive. He felt his feet tingle with the familiar feeling of being electrocuted, and his sneakers and lower pant legs were completely soaked by now, but he also knew he couldn't let up or else everything they worked for was for naught.

"Could you guys maybe hurry up?" He managed to grind out through grit teeth. "I don't know how long I can hold it like this."

"Just a few more moments, brother!", Zeke called out somewhere above him, accompanied by the hiss of an welding torch. "We almost got it."

"Just finish this", the Conduit groaned. "Because this isn't as easy as it looks."

'This' being the several tons of pipe work he had to hold up with his electrokinetic powers. Since nearly all heavy machinery was damaged or could not be brought here fast enough, the engineers of Empire had asked Cole whether he was willing to help them. Cole knew this was going to be hard, but he agreed anyways.

Empire City needed those pipes, as they were crucial for the water supply in the city. Ever since the military cut the city off, they have been struggling. There had been barely supplies, no help, no electricity in large parts of the city and mostly, nearly no clean water.

People had been dieing from the lack of food and water, from diseases and the overall violence from the gangs that tried to take over the city. The Reapers, First Sons and the Dustmen were responsible for most of the dead civilians, but many more also lost their lives when the military and especially DARPA massacred them as they invaded the city. It was only thanks to the near-suicidal work of two USTV reporters, who sneaked into Empire and found out what was _really_ going on when the public forced President Navarro to help the people.

Now they still weren't allowed outside of Empire, but at least they weren't treated like rabid animals anymore. The so-called 'plague' the people suffered from was safely contained too, since it wasn't a disease to begin with but rather the result of Sasha's Tar in the water. (Boy that had been an uphill battle, because a large amount of the military leaders just wanted to nuke Empire and be done with it instead of trying to figure out what exactly was wrong. Maybe it was what was left of the paranoia from the thing in Manhattan three years before)

Things have been starting to look up since then, but Cole was aware that they were still miles away from the old Empire, and he did everything in his power to help them on the way. Originally it had been Moya and later John who ordered him to re-establish the electricity in the districts, back when the people hated Cole's guts. It was a temporary alliance, just so Cole could get the Hell out of this place. However, the longer he stayed in Empire, the more he realized that he did what he did because it was what he wanted deep inside. People needed help, and Cole had the power to help. He had first noticed it back when he freed the hostages from the train the Reapers had taken.

And then when he saw what the Dustmen and Reapers and First Sons have done to the people, he had become angry at them and fierce in his protectiveness of the civilians, he put his old self behind and started fighting for them, taking bullets and wounds in strife and neglecting his own well-being so the people would be safe.

A part of him also felt responisble for what happened, so it was up to him to fix what he had caused. After all, _he_ was the one who carried the bomb into the Historic District, and _he_ was also the one who created that bomb in the first place.

Or a version of him, a him from a different future.

Kessler.

Cole grit his teeth and focused inwards. He couldn't lose control. He had to keep himself from snapping, just as he always did since he found out the truth. It hadn't been easy to accept, to learn that it was quite literally _him_ who killed thousands, who doomed millions, who tortured others- who murdered his own girlfriend in cold blood. Just to make his other self stronger.

Cole never hated anyone that much as he hated Kessler. He quite literally hated himself- but at the same time, he feared that he would end up like him. A man who had lost so much that he had seen no other choice than to change the course of time.

"Whoa! Cole!" Zeke's voice called out over the shriek of metal, "Cool it, will you?"

The Conduit grit his teeth and forced himself to calm down. Lightning was still sparking across his body, but at least he managed to _not_ crush the pipe Roger, Lou and Zeke were working on.

Zeke was another sore spot for Cole altogether- his best friend, but he betrayed his trust several times during this whole mess and finally sealed the demise of their friendship when he sided with Kessler.

Sure, he had told him why he did that, more or less begged for his forgiveness, but Cole was still pissed about him. In his mind, he had all right to, too. Because of Zeke, Kessler got to Trish and murdered her. Because of Zeke, a lot of good men had died in the prison and Alden had gotten away, making everything only worse than it already was. But then again, Zeke had been his best and only friend throughout this entire situation, and they have been friends for much longer before. And Zeke had been determined to get his best friend back, as he had begun to risk his own life helping Cole.

The hissing of the welding torches above him was cut off, drawing Cole's attention, followed by Lou's voice. "Okay, you can slowly let go now, Cole!"

The Conduit grunted and carefully released the field he had been keeping up for the past three hours. He was half-prepared to just jump up and latch onto the ceiling bars in case the pipes broke- but they held.

He exhaled in relief, before he turned and trudged through the ankle-deep water covering the ground to get into a dry position. His powers were great and he couldn't imagine being without them anymore- but every time he tried to take a shower and subsequently ended up electrocuting himself, he wished he could just switch them off. (Or would have never gotten them in the first place, so this entire shit situation would have never happened)

He stepped up a ramp and kicked off the water soaking into his sneakers, then waited for the others to join him.

"Let's test it out", Roger demanded eagerly. "Cole, do you want to do the honors?"

Cole shook his head. "No. Had enough water and valves for a lifetime. It's all yours."

"Okay", Rogers shrugged, then turned to a large valve and opened it. Cole heard water rush in the pipes, but nothing seeped through. Lou headed to another, smaller valve, and opened it, letting cool water rush out over his hands.

"Empire City has water again!" The engineer whooped. Roger gave him an high-five, and Zeke bumped his knuckles into Cole's side with a wide grin.

Much to his surprise (and mild shock), the Conduit swayed back from the touch with a groan and nearly fell over, though he did collapse against the wall and stayed there at an awkward angle.

That was when Zeke lifted his glasses in suspicion and took notice of his friend's pale skin and dark rings beneath his eyes. "Bro, when was the last time you turned in for the night?"

Cole winced. "Two days ago", he answered truthfully, "Haven't slept though. Couldn't do that anyways."

Zeke huffed out. "Really? When was the last time you had more than just a few naps?"

"...Can't remember", the Conduit eventually admitted. It had really been too long since he had a good night's rest. Ever since this whole mess had started, he had barely slept. He had been knocked unconscious a few times, but he never really hit the hay since then. He had been to wound up with his new powers and was too busy to pay attention to the new demands his body asked for to just kick back and relax. And anyways, he could just drain electricity from somewhere and feel fine. He knew he shouldn't force himself much longer, but he simply couldn't switch off so easily.

Sometimes he wished he could just take something and sink away into sweet oblivion for a few days. But his increased metabolism rendered him immune against most drugs. Hell, he had once attempted to drink himself into a stupor, and had ended up drinking everything in Zeke's apartment (even the medical alcohol), though he only ended up with a medium buzz. And buzzed Cole was an angry Cole. He ended up destroying a good amount of Reapers, Dustmen and appliances, yelling nonsense. Zeke had eventually found him curled up with an angry glare near the seaside pier, complaining that the water hated him and the damn pigeons kept laughing at him.

He had forbidden him to try to get drunk since then.

The four of them went back topside, and as soon they left the tunnels, the unusual humid heat that had grasped Empire within the last few days hit them like a sledge hammer. Cole whined at the sudden contact and cringed back. Having stayed the last hours in the cool underbelly of the city plus his overall lack of energy made him susceptible to the climate up here.

Zeke- God bless him- noticed it thankfully. He shouldered Cole's arm and shielded him from the others. "Okay", he grinned at some of the crowd. "Empire's got water again. The guys are going to finish up here, while I-" He gestured to his friend, "Gonna get this one back home. See you tomorrow, folks." He more or less dragged Cole off.

The energy grid was going to be the next thing they had to fix- the Substations Cole activated used to be a secondary grid anyways, but it wouldn't harm to have them running a little while longer.

With the help of the warden, Zeke put his friend into the back of his truck and drove off, heading towards their apartment. The damage Moya's men did when they captured Cole two weeks ago had been mostly cleared away. The streets were also free and Zeke drove carefully, so the Conduit wasn't going to be thrown around. The soft vibration of the truck had a lulling effect too, and Cole slowly sank further down as his exhaustion took over him.

However, before he could nod off completely, the car came to a jarring halt, jerking him awake.

"Sorry man", Zeke commented, "But we're here. I can't let you sleep in the back of the truck."

"I slept in the graveyard before", Cole replied with a grunt. "Your truck's more comfortable."

"I know, but Harms's gonna need it", his friend answered with a chuckle. "C'mon."

The Conduit slid off the truck bed, then followed his friend back upstairs, yawning all the way.

Zeke unlocked the door and shoved his friend through. "Okay", he grinned, "I'm going to tuck you in, and you're going to stay here until you've slept properly. Deal?"

"Mph", was Cole's only reply. Zeke turned around surprised to see his friend already flopped on the couch, with his face mashed against the arm rest.

Three seconds later and he was gone completely.

Zeke chuckled at the sight of his best friend, then went to get a blanket to put it neatly over his back. It was pretty warm inside the apartment, but there was no reason for Cole to freeze. Then he threw one last glance over his apartment and walked back outside, locking the door behind him.

* * *

 _Fire and ashes._

 _Only fire and ashes._

 _Everywhere._

 _The city is dead, broken. The sky is red._

 _And it is my fault._

" _You are still too soft."_

" _You couldn't stop it."_

" _Now you have to fix it."_

" _No way back- fix it. Doom him again. And again and again and again."_

" _Until the Beast is beaten."_

" _I'm not going to become like you!"_

 _Laughter shakes the dead air around me. Then He's there. Kessler._

" _Don't forget Cole: I am you. You are me. There is no escape."_

" _Screw. You."_

" _Can you hear them cry for help, Cole? My girls?" His eyes flashed. "They're dead because you are weak, Cole! You are always going to be weak!"_

" _I beat your ass!"_

" _So? You cannot 'beat' me. I am always there. I am you."_

" _I am not you!"_

" _You are. You cannot deny it."_

" _Shut up!"_

" _Can't you see? Trish. Zeke. Mom. Dad. Empire. New Marais. They are all dead because of you."_

" _SHUT UP!"_

Cole jerked up with a hoarse shout, sweat running down his back as he kicked and tangled himself into the blanket. His eyes whipped around the empty apartment, sparks racing up and down his arms as he searched for a threat that wasn't there.

Another nightmare. Great.

Cole groaned and slowly sank back, draping his arm over his face as his pulse slowly became calm once again. Every time he closed his eyes it was the same thing. Fire and ashes. And Kessler taunting him, showing him things he'd seen.  
He could deal with the burning Empire, he could deal with Kessler. Hell, he could also deal with the glimpses he caught of the Beast.

What he couldn't deal with were Kessler's memories of his dead family. Trish with the two little girls (they had his eyes, Cole realized, and Trish's hair). Dead from being crushed by their hideout collapsing. Zeke- dead from having tried to save other civilians, with his shades shattered and blood pooling all around him.

Cole swallowed hard, trying to banish these images from his head.

Worse than what Kessler implanted into his brain were only his own memories. Not so much the Reapers and Dustmen and First Sons he's slain himself over this entire time- Cole couldn't give a single shit about them, but it were the civilians he and Zeke had led to their doom at the Stampton Bridge- where they have been brutally gunned down while he and Zeke barely managed to escape. Or all those people he couldn't rescue because he was too slow, like Brandon's wife. All those deaths he caused himself because he couldn't control his own powers. Every single civilian David and Moya had killed because he was too cowardly to face them.  
And, of course, seeing Trish fall over and over and over again, feeling how her broken bones ground against each other as he cradled her against his chest.

He choked back a sob, feeling the tears trickle down his cheeks again. Part of him was glad Zeke wasn't here- he wasn't sure whether he would understand- but right now he wished that his best friend was actually around. Only to have somebody nearby who wouldn't say anything and be just there.

But he wasn't, leaving him to fend for himself.

Cole sat up abruptly and marched into the bathroom, determined to take his mind off the nightmares and try to start fresh. Completely fresh. He kicked his shoes off and threw his sling bag back onto the couch as he made his way there. He peeled his clothes away from his body and dropped them into the hamper, then stepped into the shower and switched on the hot water.

The pipes sputtered for a moment before a blast of luke-warm water met his shoulders and back. Cole's mind whited out and he went rigid for several seconds as his skin started to crawl with lightning that rushed over his body- but it wasn't unpleasant, though. It was much better than being dropped into the bay and electrocuting himself, he thought, because it was actually tickling. In some way.

He just shouldn't waste too much time, so he started to scrub away all the grime that had accumulated.  
It wasn't that he wanted to be dirty, but between discovering that water was more of an enemy now and the whole mess he found himself in, he only had time for some quick sponge baths- if any at all. Plus he hadn't exactly changed his clothes over the time Empire fell into ruins. He was sure he smelled pretty bad, but he really couldn't give a shit.

His skin started to prickle even more, the lights above him started to flicker and lightning lashed out of his body. Cole turned off the water and stepped out, padding over the tile floor and wrapping himself with a towel.

After heading into his room, picking and putting on a new track suit (that one looked almost identical- they had been on Sale), he began searching the kitchen. There was no food there, but he could at least get some water from the tap now.

His stomach growled, earning a sigh from the Conduit. Food then. He wondered briefly where he was supposed to get some, though he quickly figured that Zeke would know. So he put on his shoes and slung his bag back over his shoulder and headed towards the roof, ringing up his room mate.

"Z?"

" _Jesus, Cole?"_

"Yeah. Listen, I'm coming over."

" _Did you sleep?"_

"A bit."

Zeke sighed. _"According to my watch you had a little over three hours then."_

"Most I had in several days", Cole joked, stopping next to an electric station to drain it. "Where are you?"

" _Where we've been before. Still cleaning up."_

"Do you have something to eat?" Cole asked, accompanied by the growl of his empty stomach.

" _Yeah. Some canned beans and the warden even found a can of corned beef."_

"Sweet. I'm coming over." Cole clicked the radio off and leaped from the rooftop, landing gracefully atop the cable car tracks. After catching his balance, he twisted his legs a bit and kicked off, grinding along the tracks with sparks rushing around his legs.

He hummed at the feeling of the wind rushing past his face and driving away the last remnant of his dreams, then he coiled his muscles to jump off and land on a lamp post, which he used to climb up and onto the roof of a low building.

He inhaled once and glanced at the sun, until suddenly his neck started to crawl.

Out of instinct, he whirled around, searching for any threat.

He didn't see any, just the glimmer of hot air rising up over the building's roofs.

Cole eyed the area for a few moments longer, then turned away and continued his way through the Neon District to find Zeke.

But he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

* * *

Cole found Zeke, Warden Harms, Lou, Roger, and some of the others sitting around a small makeshift camp fire, eating from tin plates. He could smell the beans and the corned beef, and his stomach growled.

He landed a few feet away from the group with an audible thud, but that was hardly surprising to them. He didn't move exactly stealthy, it was still day and he had used his Static Thrusters on the last few yards.

"Hey man!" Zeke greeted him. "We left you some food!"

"Great." Cole planted his butt near his friend and folded his legs before he accepted the bowl of food Harms held towards him. "Man. I'm starving."

As he dug into his beans, he noticed Zeke glancing at him. Cole knew he was taking in every information he could get- for somebody as loud, annoying and downright _dumb_ as his roommate, Zeke was able to read most people quite well. More so when this person was his best friend.

If Cole focused hard enough, he could almost _hear_ Zeke's thoughts too. He didn't want to though, because reading minds left him with a splitting headache. The few times he's tried it, he very nearly threw up from the effort it took.

No doubt he was going to ask him about what was on his mind later on when they were alone. Zeke was the only one who knew what Cole went through nearly every time he slept, with the few rare exceptions after he pushed himself too far and ended up collapsing and passing out rather than falling asleep.

The sun began to vanish, but the heat and humidity was still sitting heavy on them. Cole wondered why he wasn't melting in his track suit, until he realized out that being a Conduit had not only enhanced his own strength and stamina, but also rendered him more resistant against climatic changes. Still, if the heat wave persisted any longer, he would have to change his attire. Harms was asking him about that too, and Cole replied automatically. Just to keep the mood up.

They didn't need to know that their hero was mentally scarred, not when there were still so many problems to fix before Empire would be a good place to live again. Cole was willing to put his own troubles behind and try to help them with the more pressing matters, mainly because they affected much more people than his own personal demons.

He stopped mid-eating, his spoon hovering in the air as his eyes narrowed. He slowly turned his head, glaring into the direction of the large ships while his beans dropped back into his bowl.

"Cole?" Zeke asked worried. "Everything alright?"

"Marines", Cole replied with a scowl.

"Oh. Okay", his room mate furrowed his brows. "Don't zap them."

"Can't promise anything." Marines, _soldiers_ in general were a massive sore spot in Cole's mind too. They weren't like the Dustmen or the Reapers or the First Sons, who fought for power. The Marines had shot the innocent civilians because they were told to do so. There was no hesitation when they gunned them down at the Stampton Bridge, they didn't ask questions when Moya told them to take over the city and massacre the people. They only did, without remorse, without questioning _why_.

Cole hated them for this. So when a small group of Marines approached them, the Conduit had gotten up and faced them. Once they were less than ten feet from each other, the captain lifted his arm and stopped his troop. The men glared at Cole with a mixture of awe, terror and disgust. No doubt they heard stories about him. No wonder, he hasn't been exactly subtle when he took out the men Moya send in, and he really didn't hold back when he sank the _Washington_ , so there had been more men on his head.

But that was okay. Cole couldn't stand them either. He stood protective in front of the others, had his arms spread slightly to the sides and had lightning running up and down his body. Maybe he was being irrational, but he was being cranky, hadn't slept much and just needed an outlet. And these idiots were quite well suited for it.

"What do you want?" Cole growled.

"Calm your jets, freak", the captain snarled, "We aren't here to cause any trouble."

"No?"

"We have been assigned to clear this sink hole out."

"Really?" Cole drawled out, "Like you 'cleared out' Stampton Bridge? Civilians died there!"

"We had our orders", the Marine gave back. "And we will stay, no matter what you or anybody else says here, freak."

"Cole!" Harms called out, stepping up to the Conduit to put his hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, will you? Let them prove themselves that they aren't the same bastards that gunned down our people." Cole glared at him for a split moment before he switched his powers off and pulled back.

"Fine", he bit out. He glared at the captain. "I see one of you do so much as taking aim at one of us, I will not hesitate to fry the entire battalion, got it?"

"And we will not hesitate to pump you full of lead", the group's first lieutenant gave back. "Some of the guys want to, you know? You did murder some of us."

"I wouldn't have needed to", Cole replied coldly, "If you hadn't murdered civilians." He turned around and marched away from the camp fire. "You can shoot anyone wearing a gas mask, a hoodie or a trashbag- but stay away from the civilians, got it?"

"You can't give us orders, cocksucker!" The first lieutenant shouted, "We do what we came here for!"

"Screw you!" Cole hollered, before he leapt off the floor and latched onto a rainwater pipe to scramble to the top of a building. "I'm watching you!" He added before he vanished.

The Marine captain grumbled under his breath, then turned to give his men a few orders. Zeke glanced at the warden. "I guess I'll go and check up on him", he said quietly.

"Do that", Harms answered. "I know he means well, but his temper's getting worse."

Zeke jogged off.

* * *

Zeke found his best friend easily enough. Rule number one: If Cole stormed off, he was most likely with Trish.

So Zeke headed to the park-turned-graveyard. Cole was there, sitting in front of Trish's grave and staring blankly at the picture he's gotten from Kessler.

"Hey bro", he called out.

"Hey Z", Cole replied with a blank tone.

Zeke sat down next to his friend, noting how he put the picture away before he could catch a glimpse of it. "I hate them too", he explained. "But the Marines have man power, equipment and supplies we can only dream of."

Cole didn't say anything, just glared harder, so Zeke dug in a bit deeper.

"Empire needs them, if we ever want to get back to our feet."

His best friend sighed. "I know", he eventually admitted. "But I can't help loathing them. They come in here, all important and great and expect us to just bend over and kiss their asses. They know nothing about what happened here. If it was according to them, they would just nuke the place, cut us off and shoot us like animals."

"Yeah", Zeke sighed. "I know. But we have the public on our side", he added with a grin. "Linda called me again and asked for another interview, you know."

"Good. Tell her what _we_ did for the city." Cole yawned again. "Just leave out that I can lift a few tons of pipes for some hours. I don't feel like being worshipped."

"Don't worry, bro", Zeke grinned.

He rummaged through his bag, while Cole watched interested. Finally, he produced two cans of beer. "Here", he claimed. "To Empire."

"Yeah", Cole snorted amused. "To Empire City."


	2. Trouble in Empire

**Author: Hey, I'm glad you guys have accepted this idea so fast. So I will do my best and try to keep in Character.**

 **However, as always in stories and my stories especially- there might be plotholes or plotpoints that I will not explain in the chapters they appear in or in a chapter or two later. At the last chapter everything will be explained, though. Please keep that in mind and do not flame.**

* * *

Trouble in Empire

 _Two days later_

The heat wave was in full swing. Cole grunted as he hoisted himself atop a flat roof, flinching back from the hot air that radiated off the tar. He was wearing a light t-shirt now to cool himself down, but that came at the price that his skin was exposed to the burning sun and asphalt. Empire hadn't been that hot for a very long time.

Cole moved across the roof and climbed up the scalding facade of another building to reach an abandoned construction side further down the block. The metal was scorching hot, but at least the wind could cool him down as he climbed up and sat down at the highest point of the construction.

From up here, he had a good view of the surrounding Neon district. He could also see the Warren with its massive industrial chimneys and Alden's Tower, and the Historic district with the gaping hole in the middle. Cole's face darkened as he eyed the crater. He fought Kessler over there, he lost Trish over there, and bad memories welled up inside him.

He almost wanted to throw up, but he fought the urge down and turned away, eying the Neon district instead.

He quickly felt calmer. Out of the three districts the Neon was the one that wouldn't need as long as the others to grow back. Sure, there were still the occasional Reapers, but they were keeping their heads low for the time being. Between him taking out their bases, their Conduits and their men, and the cops driving them out wherever they could find them; Sasha's boys were having enough troubles.

The Warren was a bit different. The place was still crawling with Dustmen, though their attacks on the civilians has gotten extremely infrequent and they seemed to be content with hiding in their 'Tent City'. Cole had heard they had a new leader, so maybe it was his work?

Or, the more obvious answer, they were probably afraid of the Marines and their overwhelming presence near the harbors at the Warren. Cole could understand them, he was a little bit afraid of the soldiers too. He wondered what would happen as soon they had Empire back to its feet. Where they going to hunt after him next? Turn him either through blackmail or that nice brain chip into their puppet? Or would they just gun him down often enough that even his powers couldn't save him and then dump his body into some unmarked grave?  
Would they leave him alone?

Cole chuckled to himself. Yeah. As if _that_ was ever going to happen. It was more possible that he and Sasha would live together than the United States allowing him to go free. Hell, it was more possible that Kessler would return and act as the priest to marry them than him being allowed to live his life on his own.

Cole chuckled and tried to force _those_ images back into the confines of his mind. It looked like his gallows humor had come back to him. Which was good, maybe he could have his common sense back next, please?

His neck crawled and he whipped around, eyes narrowed suspiciously. He had the feeling someone was watching him, but he couldn't see anybody. Just the flickering air above the hot roofs around him.

But Cole couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone. He could use his radar sense, but he was well-aware that it wouldn't cover that much ground anyways. And whoever was watching him was hiding very well- it would be like searching for the needle in a haystack. He didn't like the feeling in his guts. His eyes narrowed some more, until he turned back around and simply jumped off the construction side, shooting towards the streets below like a meteor. He hit the asphalt in a roll and with a static crackle that made the street lamps around flicker momentarily. There were a few surprised shouts from the pedestrians around. Cole just took enough time to apologize to them before he quickly rushed down the street and around a corner, scrambled up a fire escape and vaulted over a low wall, then stayed close to the ground level. He wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, running away like that, but his gut told him that it was the better choice.

Zeke would laugh about his paranoia, but that didn't matter to the Conduit at the moment. Something wasn't right and didn't sit right with him. Something that felt like... _danger_.

He hastily dashed down a few more roads until the feeling of being watched finally let up. His breakneck speed gradually slowed down to a light jog, though he didn't stop until he found the apartment complex they lived in. He quickly grabbed his keys and unlocked the door, then rushed inside. He took two steps at once when he headed upstairs to Zeke's and his flat.

Once he was inside, he was glad to see his friend already present, though Zeke jumped at the sudden intrusion, staring wide-eyed at Cole.

"Jesus, Cole! How about some subtlety next time?"

"Sorry", Cole replied, closing the door behind him. He just flopped down on the couch with a groan, inhaling deeply.

"You okay, man?" Zeke asked worried.

"Yeah", Cole replied, "Just- getting nervous, I think."

Zeke glanced at his best friend with a puzzled expression. "You? Nervous? You, who jumps off Alden's junk tower for _fun_? C'mon man. You could take on a Vampire Queen. Nothing makes you nervous."

"This does!" Cole snapped. "And I don't even know _what_ it is! It's always as if I'm being watched, as if someone is stalking me!" He ran his hands over his scalp, digging his fingers into the short stubble there while lightning lashed out of his skin. "It's not like Kessler's whispers either, Z. Something's out there."

"Cole!" Zeke's voice yelled suddenly, "Calm down!"

Like a rubber band, the Conduit snaps his attention at his room mate, who is cowering behind the couch as lightning twitches over his head. Cole swore under his breath and pulled his lightning back, allowing Zeke to slowly get back to his feet.

"Jesus, I won't say you're high-strung...but you are seriously on the edge", Zeke said in a deadpan voice.

"Tell me something I don't know", Cole groaned, dropping his head against the backrest. "Every time I close my eyes Kessler is there- taunting. Every time I'm outside, I have the feeling I'm being stalked."

"Hey man. You are not Kessler", Zeke said in all honesty. "You can not _be_ Kessler. You are Cole. Not him." He patted his friend's shoulder. "Screw him. He's dead and buried, you are not. And your stalker- well, just let him come closer and zap him."

Cole heard the jingle of keys and lifted his head to glance at his best friend walking towards the door. "And I know what you need. You need a good drink and some idiots to torture. C'mon."

"I just got back", Cole moaned. "I want to sleep!"

"But we both know you won't do it", Zeke lectured him. "So instead of frying the apartment, how about we do something productive?"

The Conduit turned that thought over in his head. Zeke was right- some nights he would wake up screaming with lightning flashing everywhere, other nights he would toss and turn, mumble incoherent words and eventually wake up worse for wear. So maybe there was a way to take the edge off, something to tire him enough so he would just black out.

Zeke's phone rang. He arched his brows and glanced at it as he pulled it out of his pocket. "The warden", he noticed. "Wonder what he wants?"

He switched on the loud speaker and answered. "Here Dunbar"

" _Hey Zeke"_ , Harms sounded serious. _"Is Cole there?"_

"I am", Cole called from the couch.

" _Good. Could you two come over to the police station?"_

"Why?"

" _I need another opinion. It's important, though."_

Zeke sighed. "Well, another plan shot down, but I guess we can make a detour. Okay, we'll be there."

" _See you"_ , Harms clicked off.

"No rest for the wicked", Cole joked.

"Yeah. That's the price when you are the good guy in the story", Zeke lamented, "Everybody wants a piece of you."

Cole shrugged. "Can as well head over now." His eyes turned upwards. "We're taking the rooftops, though. It's the faster route."

Zeke sighed. "Fine. I won't like it much though."

"You introduced me to urban exploration", Cole reminded him. "Might as well train your muscles." He glanced at his friend's stomach. "And get you back in shape too."

"Hey", Zeke groused as they headed to the roof. "Round _is_ a shape."

"You might get more girls if you drop a few pounds, Z", Cole sing-sang.

Zeke grumbled in reply.

* * *

They reached the police station in the Warren in a good time. Cole had ended up dragging his room mate across the last few rooftops, because Zeke was out of breath. Still, Cole's teasing helped him to get it back together and finish the trip.

He was glad to see the Conduit in such a great mood, too, even though he did glance back from time to time and scowl darkly at some point behind them. He had looked into that direction once too, but hadn't seen anything other than the glare of the heated air.

Warden Harms stood in front of the police station as the two arrived.

"Cole. Zeke. I'm glad you made it", he said. He eyed Zeke. "Haven't been running much lately, Zek?"

"Hahar", Zeke panted. "Let me just get my breath back, then you'll hear something nasty."

Harms made a face. "Nasty's the right word, Dunbar", he muttered. "Come."

"What for?" Cole asked curiously as they passed the office desk. He noticed some of the remaining officers looking pale and over-worked. No wonder. Empire was still in ruins, and even with him helping with the Reapers and Dustmen, there was still a lot ground to cover and not nearly enough officers left between the gangs taking over, Moya's invasion and David's rampage.

"I need your insight", Harms claimed. "Haven't seen any like that before and was hoping you'd have an idea."

Cole frowned as they headed down the stairs, then stopped suddenly. "Uh, Harms? What you want to show us...is it a corpse, per chance?"

The warden stopped too and squirmed a bit. "Yes", he admitted. "So, uh, be warned. It's not exactly pretty."

"Empire went down the drain", Zeke pointed out. "Cole and I've seen our fair share of bodies."

"Not to mention made some of them", Cole added with a shrug. Hell, he had probably killed the most of the bad people in the entire city, by taking out Dustmen and Reapers left and right. And every single dead First Son that was found on the streets was his work too. He hated them with every fiber of his being.

"I know", Harms sighed. "But I have never seen one like this- and I have worked in this job for decades. So I though maybe you guys know more about it?" He paused in front of the morgue and turned to the two younger men. "If you can't keep your bile down, I won't judge you. My boys have lost their breakfast too- though I have to ask you to puke into the bin and not contaminate the evidence."

"Is it that bad?" Cole asked.

Harms just frowned. "Worse."

He led them inside the morgue, where a female coroner glanced at them. "Are these the boys you wanted to get along for the ride?"

"They are, Lisa", Harms said. "Can you show them?"

"I can", the coroner shrugged. "But don't say I didn't warn ya."

She pulled the sheet covering a body aside.

"Jesus" Zeke gasped and turned away, breathing rapidly to prevent throwing up.

Cole just stood there, staring wide-eyed at the corpse on the slab. He had gone very pale, too, and that was rare for the same guy who had seen the aftermath of the Dustmen taking over the prison.

"Not a nice sight", the coroner said. "I know." She frowned at the two. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah- just-just give me a moment", Zeke whimpered. "That looks- Jesus!"

"What happened?" Cole finally found his voice again. "And who was it?"

"As to 'who'..." Harms trailed off, retrieving a file. "His name was Andrew Harrington."

"Andy?" Zeke squeaked. "Holy shit! That guy's the size of a brick house!"

"I know", Harms sighed. "I talked to some of his friends and family. He was a good man, wasn't he?"

"Yeah", Cole mumbled, eying the corpse. "Helped the neighborhood, even when everything went to shit. Wouldn't take anything from the Reapers either..." He frowned at Harms. "Where did you find him?"

"At the old theater, in the Neon", the warden told him. "Some of the boys said that it were the Reapers, but-"

"It's not their style", Cole bit out between grit teeth. "What happened?"

The coroner sighed and pointed at the body. "The cause of death was the massive trauma he went through." Her fingers went to the back of the corpse. "When his spine and skull were removed from him."

"What?!" Zeke more or less shrieked and Cole went as rigid as a board. "He was still _alive_ when somebody _tore out his spine_?!"

The coroner nodded slowly. "Most likely. His heart had continued beating for a little while longer, which explains the massive amount of blood we found."

"Jesus", Zeke groaned, turning away again, so he wouldn't see the body anymore.

"He fought back", the coroner added. "The injuries along his hands and several stab wounds indicate he was attacked, though he did attempt to protect himself."

"Who in Hell would be able to do something like this?", Cole asked with a scowl. A few lights above began to flicker with his rising temper. The guy- whoever it has been- was as good as _dead_. Nobody was allowed to go around and tear out people's spine in Empire City. In _his_ city.

"I have no idea", the coroner sighed. "But I can tell you this- the cuts that separated his spine and skull from his remaining body happened fast. The attacker must have had a weapon with two parallel blades." She covered the corpse and pushed it back into the stainless steel locker. "They were sharp too. The cut that sliced through all thirteen pair of ribs was a single, smooth motion. No hesitation, no stopping. No sawing." She made a slicing motion with her hand.

"Like I said", Harms added. "Never had anything like it before."

He led both younger men back outside again. "Sorry you had to see this, but like I said, I was hoping you knew something."

Cole shook his head while Zeke was still panting audibly next to him. "Never", he claimed darkly. "Shit, that's all kinds of messed up."

"Maybe it were the Reapers?" Harms asked. "Maybe they finally snapped and went over board?"

"Maybe", Cole furrowed his brows. The three continued in silence until they reached the lobby again. "I think I'll pay them a visit", he eventually decided. "Check out their story. If anything, they could be witnesses."

Zeke squirmed a bit before he put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Be careful, man", he told him.

"Always", Cole replied grimly. "See you at home, Z."

He then jogged off, jumped up a building's facade and headed straight for the Neon District.

* * *

The old theater was in the part of the Neon that was still dangerous to most normal folks. Even Cole usually avoided going through it directly, as this was still Reaper territory. The crime scene where they've found Harrington's body was still visible- the white outlines, the massive pool of dried blood and the yellow tape cutting it off neatly. A group of officers were around it too, but didn't dare venturing any deeper into the Reaper territory.

Cole snorted. He didn't like dealing with Reapers in other ways than just zapping them. Most Reapers used to be junkies and drug dealers, the lowest scum of Empire City and were thus very high on his own personal shit-list, but now they all shared a sort of Hive Mind through Sasha's tar, which made them endlessly more dangerous. They had all sort of guns and enough ruthlessness to use them. Cole had more than enough experience prying out bullets out of his own flesh thanks to these shit bags.  
Plus they could spit tar that would kill any normal human or, at the very least, turn them into more Reapers. Cole himself was mostly resistant, but if he got enough of it, he couldn't use his powers for a while and his vision turned all blurry while his insides twisted as if they wanted out. When he had helped Trish with the water supplies, he had almost fainted a few times. Better keep it short and snappy to avoid that.

He easily headed inside the theater through a window in the upper levels, and send out his radar pulse. He didn't find any presence around, and kept on moving. He passed old and dusty rows of chairs, almost all of them were torn, though. The great screen at the other side was shredded, as were the curtains. Cole found evidence that somebody had been sleeping here, but that had been some time ago. He frowned at the absence of anybody around and headed deeper into the theater.

There was no electricity here, but it wasn't enough to make him feel weakened and disoriented like it did during the black outs. He kept on sending out pulses, hoping to find somebody.

It disturbed him that there was nothing around.

Reapers weren't exactly subtle, and this total lack of threats was worrying.

Cole narrowed his eyes when he finally found an emergency hatch hidden among discarded equipment at the bottom of the basement. The disturbed dust told him that a lot of feet stomped along here.

He knelt down and wrenched the hatch open. Total darkness greeted his sight- but it wasn't as if he needed additional light. Sparks flashed along his arms, lighting up the inside of the tunnel.

Cole scowled at the sight of black tar coating the ground.

The Reapers were down there, and they had placed traps. Normal humans do not survive contact with the tar, and even to him it was highly unpleasant.  
But he still needed answers, and it looked as if they were close. So Cole bit the bullet and jumped down. His sneakers made an ungodly squishy noise when he landed inside the black liquid and he immediately started to feel light-headed.

The Conduit groaned with a splitting headache, but then grit his teeth and began to wade through the tar. His body protested the longer he stayed inside the muck, but Cole had always been stubborn. Voices began whispering at the back of his mind, and the toxic air around began to steal his breath.

Cole groaned and listed to the side, fighting to keep his consciousness. He couldn't give up now.

" _Who dares to tread on my territory?"_ A female voice shrieked inside his head. Oh joy. Sasha knew he was there.

" _Who are you?"_ Sasha wanted to know. Cole could feel her inch closer, searching his mind. He grit his teeth and fought back against her hold, at the cost of exposing himself.

There was a surprised silence before Sasha's voice turned ecstatic.

" _Cole! My beloved! You have returned!"_

" _Yeah"_ , Cole bit back mentally. _"I have some questions, Sasha."_

Sasha turned guarded. _"Questions? And for that you endanger yourself? No. This won't do."_

" _I don't like it- but this has to be face-to-face"_ , Cole declared.

There was some silence, seconds before a single Reaper suddenly appeared before the Conduit. "Follow", he croaked, then turned and headed back into the bowels of the hideout.

Cole followed him. The tar-flooded hallway soon turned steeper, and the black liquid parted away from him, so he luckily was no longer affected by it.

The Reaper was still walking in front of him, leading him through the dark and narrow tunnels.

Cole remembered Sasha's first hideout in the Jefferson Tunnel. It had space, pumps all over the place, automatic turrets and loads of Reaper Conduits guarding it. The new one was more cramped, but also better hidden.

He had been right. The Reapers were hiding.

But what from?

They passed several rooms with Reapers. Cole saw only few Conduits amongst them, but loads of weapons instead. So, they weren't just hiding, they were also arming themselves. Once again he wondered _where_ exactly a bunch of junkies (and bums for that matters) got such high-end weapons plus enough ammunition to take out Empire three times.  
He needed answers. And this time he was going to get them. This time there would be no First Sons taking them by surprise. His guide quickly pulled away from him and vanished in the shadows, once they reached the 'Throne Room'.

Sasha sat upon her throne, eyes sparkling as they settled upon him. "Cole", she declared with a giddy voice. "How lovely to see you here." She stood up, arms spread to the sides as she stepped towards him. Cole fought down his urges to look anywhere but her face. The other Conduit still wasn't wearing anything else but a thin jacket and hood, while most of her skinny and disturbingly pale body was merely coated by her own tar, drawing his eyes to her most intimidate areas ('Hey, I am still male, give me a rest!'). But it wasn't anywhere as arousing as it should have been (at least according to his memories regarding Trish), because the entirety of Sasha was just repulsing and _wrong_.

Cole shook himself as the female Conduit had crossed the distance between them and was slowly dragging her nails down his chest.

"I need answers", Cole growled, grabbing her wrists to stop them going any deeper. "Yesterday the police found a body in front of your theater." He paused and lowered his voice somewhat to not make her block him out. "Listen. They think that your Reapers have killed him. But I know they didn't. If you know anything, just tell me."

"Was it a man who was slaughtered?" Sasha asked suddenly. Cole narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"A man. Strong and in his prime", the other Conduit continued. "But slaughtered like an animal." Her eyes seemed to turn guarded. "His skull and spine gone, yes?"

"Yes" Cole tilted his head. "How do you know?"

Sasha made an angry noise. "This coward!" She spat enraged. "I will find him and rip him to pieces for what he has done to my beloved!"

Cole lifted his head, staring at her. "You mean to say-"

"Shush", Sasha said. "Follow me."

She led the way, away from her throne room and further down into her territory. Despite not wanting to show any signs of weakness, Cole gasped when the stench of decay hit his nose with full force, and he had to gag to keep himself from being violently sick.

Sasha glanced at him, before nodding to the side.

Cole saw at least eight bodies laying there. From their clothes, five had been the Reaper's Conduits, but the others used to be especially large Heavy Reapers.

All of them had been sliced open with their spines and skulls missing.

"Holy shit", The male Conduit gasped. It wasn't so much the sight that made his insides turn and boil- it was the _smell_ that got to him.

"Indeed", Sasha commented with a growl. "We have found them."

"When?"

"Days ago", the female Conduit explained, "So many days. We don't exactly keep the time in check down here, you know." Her eyes narrowed. "But those were those we managed to _find_."

"You lost more?"

"Many more, my beloved", Sasha pointed out. "I know you are angry at them too, but their losses were nothing like _that_. The Ripper hunted us. Stalked us. Murdered us when we didn't look. We lost so many."

Cole furrowed his brows, eying the dead bodies again. So, whoever had killed Harrington had murdered Reapers too, finally driving them into the Underground.

"Any idea who this _Ripper_ person might be?"

"Someone strong. Maybe stronger than you", Sasha replied. "Someone who can hide his presence well."

Maybe David? Cole shuddered at the thought. This heavily mutated Conduit had tried to kill him for what Kessler did to him, murdering countless people on his hunt. But he was dead, wasn't he? It would be fitting, however, because David had stalked him too.  
But he had doused him in Jet Fuel and torched him with so much power, he sank an entire aircraft carrier.

No. David was dead. Dead and gone, at the bottom of Steel Harbor, along with Moya's corpse.

Who else was there?

"What do you know about the Dustmen?" Cole asked.

Sasha snorted. "They have a new leader", she told him, "Brandon Heyes. He's one of the Golem Conduits, who rose in power after Alden's death." Her eyes turned dark. "Do you believe that it was one of them?" Sasha's voice turned shrill. "The one we fear is just one of these cowards?!"

"I don't think so", Cole replied seriously. "It does not match them." He furrowed his brows. "And it doesn't match to the First Sons either, no matter how much I want them to be." He snorted. "Then I would have a reason to murder them even more than I already have."

So it was another player?

Cole had to stop him before he started murdering more civilians like Harrington.

But at the same time, he had to keep the Reapers under control. But he had a possibility to do just that. "Sasha..." He began slowly. "I think this is much bigger than either of us. Listen- I want you to keep your Reapers down here."

"What?"

"Do not assault the Dustmen. Or anybody else, for that matters", he ordered. "I want to draw the Ripper out." _And killing Reapers is my job anyways_.

Sasha leaned against his shoulder, all but _purring_. "If you want this, then I will follow your wish", she whispered.

"Promise it- until this is cleared, do not attempt to do anything on your own- okay?"

Sasha was silent for a few moments. Eventually, she exhaled once. "Good." And then she was suddenly upon Cole, wrapping her arms tightly around him and pressing her lips to his. Cole made a suprised noise at the back of his throat, but couldn't act fast enough before she pulled back again. "I trust in your decision, my love", Sasha told him. "But be careful. He hunts for strong men- and you are the strongest among them."

She left, leaving Cole stand alone in the dark room with some rotting corpses.

The Conduit needed a few moments before he managed to get his brain working again. He shook his head and headed back to the surface.

There were a few things he had to check out.


	3. Killer on the loose

**Author: Thanks for your reviews. I also just wish to remind you that Cole isn't as hard of an ass as others seem to make him.**

 **Oh. And I'm not sure whether I went too detailed of the gore in this chapter or not, but I doubt it. It's still 'T' rated, though you have been warned.**

* * *

Killer on the loose

 _He hunts for strong men_. Sasha had said. _Hunted, stalked and murdered._ Cole frowned as he ground along the wire next to the bridge connecting the Neon with the Warren. He had the feeling that there was more to her words than being just a warning. There was something about her words that made all sorts of alarm bells ring in his head. Stalked and hunted- so the guy was some sort of vigilante?

Or was there something else that Sasha didn't mention? She _was_ crazy and had a different view than him.

Maybe he should simply ask her, but then she would try to get into his pants again. And- yeah. That was so not going to happen.

Cole vaulted over a parked car and climbed back topside, to grind along one of the many electrical wires that were more common in the Warren. He passed the hospital- now back in the hands of the civilians- and headed into the lawless territories that surround the tent city and Alden's junk tower.

The Reapers used to be junkies and drug dealers. The lowest of the low, all brought together and turned into a 'family' through Sasha's mind-controlling tar. Cole had no love for them, and fighting them whenever they attacked him was fine in his book.

The Dustmen were different. They didn't have someone who controlled them. They didn't have a fancy underground bunker or training. They were just a bunch of bums who grouped together because it was easier to survive the crazy shit that followed the blast. Alden was their leader, and under his guidance, they had become a force to be reckoned with. And, to make matters worse, they were even more lethal than the Reapers, killing and endangering anyone as they saw fit. Of course, after Alden's death many of them had disbanded, but Cole still couldn't stand them.

Heyes was an unknown, though. Cole hadn't met him until now, and was thus unable to figure out whether he was just like Alden or not. But then again, it had appeared as if th Dustmen too had pulled back.

 _'Let's hope for the best, but prepare for the worst'_ , Zeke always said. Cole agreed.

Mentally steeling himself, he dropped down from the roof he's been perched on and carefully made his way around the corner of an alleyway, checking the Dustmen's city more closely. He noticed new barbed wire, more defense turrets everywhere and loads of them miling about and keeping the area under guard. Not even one was alone, but they seemed more nervous than he'd ever seen them.

But he had to talk to them, though he doubted he'd come any closer inside their fortress. So he started walking, putting one foot in front of the other. Just walking.

Right towards the Tent City.

The first twenty seconds nothing happened. Cole passed towards it like a ghost- until the Dustmen realized just _who_ he was. Within moments, most of them had their weapons grabbed and took aim at him, while more scrambled towards the barbed wire fence and stared down.

 _Here goes. All or nothing_. The Conduit slowly lifted his hands, trying to force a smile. "Relax, guys. I'm not here to fight- but I have to talk to your boss."

He's nervous as Hell, because if all of them shot him, he probably wouldn't survive. Hell, taking a buck load of lead to the back always hurt, but if these guys lost their nerve, he would go down fast.

"Talk? About what?!" One of the Conduit Dustmen snapped. Cole assumed he had a pretty high seat in the group. He narrowed his eyes when he realized that he was about the only of the Conduits he could see. He didn't see any other, and that worried him. While not as powerful as he, Sasha or Alden, the so-called 'Lesser Conduits' were still tough bastards. Usually, when he sauntered in, they were the first ones to show their faces and assault him.

But except for the loudmouthed guy up there, he didn't notice a single other of them.

And then Cole realized how stiff the Dustmen were. The hands grabbing their rifles were rigid and white, and most of them where looking around nervously- not at him, but everywhere else, really. They were _afraid_ , but not because of him.

Cole was smart. He recognized a pattern when he saw it. Holing up, arming themselves- this looked suspiciously like what he'd seen with the Reapers. Deciding to take his chances, he turned to the loudmouthed Dustman. "Dead bodies", he said plainly. "Spines and skulls removed. Ring a bell?"

Truth to be told, his idea was a bit far-fetched, but it looked like he came up with double sixes. The Dustmen flinched back, staring at him through their masks.

 _Bingo_

"That's what I want to talk about", the Conduit exclaimed, digging deeper. "And that's what I need Heyes for."

The loudmouthed guy turned to his guys and told them to fetch the boss, while the remaining Dustmen slowly lowered their weapons. Nobody said a word, and Cole fought down the urge to sigh in relief. This was his big role, he couldn't blow it by appearing weak.

He was the strongest Conduit here and he had to act that part.

Luckily, Heyes arrived soon enough, his massive shape appearing at the heavy-looking gate to Tent City, dwarfing Cole when he stepped out to talk to him face-to-face.

Brandon Heyes, the new head of the Dustmen, was a tall man, easily a head taller than Cole and about three times his weight. He was mostly solid muscles too. His skin was covered with scars from the rough life on the street, and Cole wondered briefly whether he had been a coach or bouncer before the blast.

Heyes was wearing a sort of armor made from scrap metal, and his hair was cut short.

"MacGrath", the man growled and the sound of his voice made the air vibrate. Cole knew he was powerful just from the looks of him. Sasha said he was what they commonly called a Golem Conduit. These had always been amongst his least favorite foes, because they usually are so tough to beat.

But Cole wasn't one to be scared so easily. He glared back at the man, locking eyes to let him know he wasn't intimidated. Guys like him only accepted strength.

"You guys have been hit by a series of murders, right?" The electric Conduit began. No beating around the bush, straight to the point. He watched how Heyes's brows furrowed angrily.

"What do you know about it?" he demanded.

"Not as much as I would like." Cole replied. "But my friend, the warden, he showed me a body. Spine and skull gone. He thought it were the Reapers."

"Filthy animals" Heyes spat enraged, "All of them. It would fit!"

"It wasn't them", the younger cut him off. "I talked to them. They have the same problem. Call them the Ripper." Cole's eyes narrowed. "They think it had been your work, you know? And now they are out for blood."

He noticed how one of the other Dustmen tried to say something, but Heyes stopped him with a raised hand, allowing Cole to continue. "I'm here to act as a middle man." He explained, "If it hadn't been the Reapers and not you- then it is possible it wasn't the First Sons either." He thrust his head into the direction of the Historic District. "Somebody is out there- murdering happily through _my_ city. I can not allow this", he stated darkly. "But I will not tolerate you guys fighting amongst yourselves either. Whoever it is would surely use this and continue his killing spree until all of us are dead."

Heyes was silent, while he stared at the younger man. "What is it what you want?" He finally asked.

"Your cooperation", the younger declared. "Don't worry. You won't have to work with the Reapers or the police- just me. Give me everything you know."

"My brothers have to be avenged", Heyes stated darkly. "This coward murdered dozens of us- without him ever showing his face. We never had a chance."

So the guy likes attacking from the shadows, huh? Cole furrowed his brows. If all of the Dustmen were to look for him, he would probably hide then. So this was what he had to do himself. "I have more chances to draw the guy out", the younger Conduit claimed, "However, if you manage to get to him first, you can do whatever you want- as long you make him suffer."

The massive Golem Conduit frowned at him, thinking about the offer. Eventually, he turned slightly, pointing at a random Dustman.

"You will take MacGrath to the Gym", he told him. "Show him where we found your brother, torn apart."

"Boss?" The man asked surprised.

"Fighting will only lead to waste on all sides", Heyes stated. "And if he is right and there is another enemy, I want to know who it is."

The man still seemed surprised, but nodded nevertheless and moved past his leader, motioning for Cole to follow him.

The Conduit allowed him to lead the way, glancing back at the remaining Dustmen. They merely watched them go, without showing any signs of aggression.

Cole exhaled in relief, though carefully so his guide wouldn't notice it. He had just walked right into Dustmen territory, he had managed to sway their boss to his side and he walked back outside without having been shot at, murdered or raped. Or all of them together.

Another positive side was that now he could breathe deeply without forcing down the choking reflex from the smell of hundreds of bums crowded together during the hottest week of the year without any sort of hygiene to speak of.

That had to count for something, right?

* * *

The two of them had moved away from the Tent City into one of the neighborhoods abandoned after the blast. Cole remembered this area from his days as bike courier, and he remembered the large store they were currently heading to. 'Mike's Muscle Shack' had been a frequented joint before the blast. In his first year Cole had been a member of the club too, to train climbing and his agility, before he went out and hit the street.

His guide hadn't spoken much, though judging from the stiffness with which he walked, he didn't wanted to be anywhere near him. Cole could understand that, after all, he was the one blowing up their people whenever he met them. But then he remembered something else.

Heyes had indicated that it had been his brother who was murdered here.

"When did it happen?" the Conduit eventually asked, startling the Dustman. He quite literally jumped up and grabbed his rifle harder. Cole had his hands back up, preparing to create his shield should the man shoot him. When the Dustman stared at him, the Conduit tried again. "Your brother", he said, "When did he die?"

The man glanced at him for a few moments before his shoulders sagged. "Three weeks ago", he said with a very thin voice. "I was worried when he didn't return and went to look for him."

Three weeks? That was when Cole was still fightning through the districts, trying to stop Kessler.

The Dustman's voice turned flat, emotionless. "At first I couldn't recognize him, but then I saw the scar on his knee."

Cole frowned, suddenly feeling like an ass. "Oh. I'm sorry." He tilted his head, eying his guide. "What was his name?"

The Dustman glared at him. "Why would you want to know?" He hissed, "You have killed enough of us too."

"Because I was defending myself", Cole gave back irritated, "You know- bunch of guys shooting at me, trying to kill me, killing civilians just for shits and giggles? Somebody had to stop that. I had the power to do so."

The Dustman kept glaring before he broke eye contact, kicking the floor in defeat. "Yeah", he eventually admitted, "We've been real bastards", he said, "Torturing the people like that. But Alden told us to do it and all of us have been too chickenshit to do something about it."

There was some silence until the Dustman spoke again. "Dave."

"Huh?"

"My brother's name. He was Dave. I'm Ty."

Cole blinked. "Nice to meet you?" He shook his head. "Listen- if you don't want to stay here, you can go."

"Go?"

"Away. Maybe even away from the Warren. I mean, without your uniform nobody's going to recognize you. They need helpers over in the Historic District. They don't pay anything, but at least you'll have food and a place to sleep."

Cole stepped towards the Gym. "I really appreciate that you brought me here, but I can deal with this on my own."

Ty glanced at him, then nodded and turned to stalk away. The Conduit watched him for a few moments before he went to check the area. Three weeks, huh? Depending on the state of decay he's seen Sasha's Reapers in, this had been before that. And that could mean it started here. Maybe even in the Gym.

Judging from the state the entrance was in, nobody had been inside since it had been abandoned. All glass was broken, though nothing was disturbed.

Strange. Looters usually would head there first, or maybe people looking for a place to sleep in- but maybe it was too close to the Dustmen's territory?

Cole took a step closer and paused, sniffing. He scrunched his nose when the faint smell of decay hit him. Was there some dead animal around? Something was not right and he decided to continue moving. He send out his radar pulse, finding nothing more than a few rats.

 _Wait._

Rats. A lot. Too many, actually.

Would explain the smell. Cole's nose scrunched up some more when he realized that the scent of decay was even stronger in here. He really should leave and head outside. He really shouldn't walk any deeper into this place.

He really should. But he didn't.

Instead, he walked towards the locker rooms, forcing himself to breathe through his mouth when the stench became unbearable. It only helped a little, because now his tongue tasted like dead animal and his eyes were filled with biting tears. More than once a fly tried to land in his face, only for him to chase it away.

 _Holy- what has died here?!_

Something squeaked beneath his shoe and Cole jumped back startled, noticing a rat rushing off. The vermin scampered into a dark corner and glared at him with its beady black eyes.

"Jesus. You nearly gave me a heart attack here", the Conduit grumbled, glaring at the rodent. The rat blinked at him again before vanishing in some hole in the wall. Cole snorted as he heard the squeaking of more rats and the buzzing of flies.

He lifted his arms and let lightning run over them, brightening the locker rooms.

He regretted it instantly.

Cole inhaled sharply at the sight of _hundreds_ of rats sitting in front of him. He took a shocked step back when they all stared at him- and slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle the terrified scream when all of them set into motion.

Screw fighting an evil future version of himself; screw fighting a black-skinned vaguely human Conduit that fed on neuroelectricity and wanted to murder him- it was _vermin_ that got Cole panicking. He threw himself back out of the door, letting lightning rush across his body for defensive purposes and hoped that none of them decided to jump on him.

Cole lied there for a few solid minutes, waiting for the sounds of their feet scrabbling across the floor to die down and for his breathing to normalize itself. It still reeked of decay and death, but somehow it didn't bother him all too much anymore.

There was only the sound of the flies buzzing around (and some of them landed on him too), when he slowly got back to his feet and lit up his arms once more. He was still curious as to what lured them here.

Something...red came into view. Cole frowned and inched closer. It stank and was coated in writhing white maggots...and it was already in a stage of advanced decay. He could make out larger fleshy parts, and rotted reddish tissues. A massive dark stain was beneath it, coating the floor.

Despite himself, Cole knelt down to check it closer. The stain on the floor looked like blood- old blood, but he couldn't recognize what the other stuff was. The closest comparison was...well, the rotten meat loaf he once found in Zeke's fridge came to mind. It was a gross, slick mass of decayed tissues. Some of them had still a surprisingly rope-like form. Something electrical tugged at his senses, prompting him to dig his fingers inside the stuff (eew) and pull it out.

It was a vaguely oval-shaped flat object with a long wire attached to it.

 _Meridian SR_ was engraved on it, followed by a series number and the remark 'Made in Germany'.

Cole's blood ran cold. He recognized this thing. It was a _pace maker_. He'd seen one once when he visited Trish in the hospital.

But that meant he had just sifted through _human_ organs.

"Oh God", the Conduit groaned, going very pale.

He just became aware of a ominous creaking above him. He really didn't want to look up. He really, really just wanted to scream and run out and drink himself into a stupor.

He didn't. And looked up.

Coming face-to-face with what had been a human at some point.

Decay and the scavengers eating off it had done a number on the body, but it was still recognizable as _human_. Only it had been skinned and gutted like some animal, and hung upside-down suspended on the ceiling.

Cole stared, mind blank.

Something creaked again. The corpse shuddered once.

There was a wet tearing noise. And the body tore free.

Cole screamed and jerked backwards, throwing his hands up and smashing the body with a full force kinetic blast.

The corpse hit the opposite wall at high velocity and simply splattered into every direction in a cacophony of wet, rotten flesh and breaking bones.

Cole just stared at the macabre stains all over the wall before he found his voice again. "I think I'm going to be sick."

* * *

Cole wasn't sick, luckily, but that was more a merit of his empty stomach than the actual lack of trying. He had spent good ten minutes hunched over a trashcan, dry-heaving in a desperate attempt to puke his guts out, until he ultimately decided that it was an useless endeavor. He then drank all water he had in his bag before he finally scrunched up enough brain cells to take his radio and call Warden Harms.

He had then simply waited outside of the Gym for them to arrive, staring blankly into space as his mind went numb. When the officers arrived, he jabbed his thumb over his shoulder wordlessly, and went back into a frozen stupor. It wasn't that he was scared of corpses in general- hell, he's seen the massacre at the prison and all he felt was anger- but what he saw inside the Gym had been a horrid new experience. The combination of rats, stench and the sudden realization that this had been a _human_ at some point had driven his mind over the edge and shut it down.

He didn't know how long he sat there, or how long Harms's men were inside- he did notice a few of them leave hastily and actually throw up into the trashcan- though he didn't react to it. Eventually, however, Harms appeared to stand next to him, then slowly sat down. He took a thermos from his side, unscrewed the cap/mug and dumped the can's contents inside. Wordlessly, he handed it over to the younger man.

"Rough day, huh?" He muttered.

Cole grabbed the mug and pulled it closer, inhaling the sweet bitter scent of shitty police station coffee.

"I guess it was you who splattered the body all over the wall", Harms began again.

Cole snorted. "It fell on me. I was panicking, okay?"

Harms chuckled. "Yeah. Wouldn't wish that kinda sight on my men, much less a 27-year-old college dropout and bike courier, for God's sake."

They were silent for a while until the warden spoke up again. "What were you doing here, anyways?"

"Looking for clues", Cole replied darkly. "I went to the Reapers, spoke to Sasha. Tried to figure out whether- I dunno- whether she knew anything about Harrington." He took a sip of the coffee. "Guess I kinda believed they were to blame for the murder. Anyways, they weren't. Turned out they had their own victims through that guy. Called him _The Ripper_."

Harms's eyes lit up slightly. "So you went to the Dustmen next."

"Yup. Same thing there, just the bodies were even older. They pointed me here."

He waved towards the building. "Went inside and found _that_. Freaked out. Ran outside. Called you. Now here we are."

"Do you think it's the same guy?"

"Dunno", Cole admitted, "Though it would fit, I think."

"My guys say the body's been there for at least a month", Harms pointed out.

"Would fit too", the younger man commented. "Heyes- the Dustmen's boss- he told me they found the first dead three weeks ago."

"Shit. Why didn't we hear of it until now?" The warden groused.

"Got the wrong people, I guess."

"Wonder why that guy still had his spine", Harms mused. "I mean, all the other victims of the Ripper looked different."

Cole didn't say anything, though his brows were furrowed deeply. Something reminded him of his youth. He frowned a bit more. Something about his dad?

His head began to pound, so he squeezed his fist into his eye sockets. "Ah shit", he grumbled. "I have the feeling I have an idea, but my head doesn't want to help."

Harms sighed. "Well, I think we'll turn you in for the night. Zeke told me you haven't been sleeping well lately, so I guess that comes back to bite you in the ass."

Cole glared darkly at the warden, who got up and proceeded to pull him to his feet too. "Unless you want to sleep here or on the graveyard, I suggest you come with us to the station. It's closer than your place, anyways. You can have one of the interrogation rooms."

Cole kept glaring, but offered no resistance when the older man shoved him into the direction of a pickup-truck-turned-police-cruiser.

Sleep did sound like a good idea, though he doubted he could actually rest with the image of the disemboweled corpse dangling from the ceiling.

And then suddenly his brain lurched into clarity.

"Hell!" The Conduit exclaimed. " _He hunts for strong men_ "

Harms stared at him blankly. "...Come again?"

Cole turned to face him. "I just remembered why this was familiar. When I was smaller, my dad took my brother and I with him on a hunting trip. He shot a buck."

"And?"

"He strung it up and gutted it!"

Harms's eyes widened in horror. "Wait- you mean to say our Killer _field dressed_ a guy?!"

"Yes!" Cole nodded. "Like an animal." His brain hurt some more and bile threatened to creep up his throat. "Shit. And the others? He was taking _trophies_ , Harms! He _hunts_ for strong men. That's why he mainly targeted Conduits- and big guys who can fight back."

The warden stared at the younger for some time longer before his face set into a deep scowl. "Then we have our hands on one sick bastard."

* * *

In the end, Cole had been too tired to take his investigation any further. He had done a great step on this day, having found the Ripper's motives and discovered for how long he had been in the city.

Though latter left a bitter taste of bile in his mouth. The guy had been for so long in Empire already, and he just figured it out the day before.

Some hero he was.

Cole turned around, trying to get at least some sort of sleep. But it wasn't really very easy- he had been half awake during the night anyways, turning and tossing in vague hopes of banishing his own thoughts. But what he had seen during the day before wouldn't settle down. It was bad enough to see a man's back spread wide open with his spine and skull cut out, but to see it over and over again, to see the organs piled up beneath a rotten corpse, that had been too much. He had thought he could deal with it, but when he was sleeping his defenses were non-existent, and he was more vulnerable.

Worse than the images was the stench of decay that had sunken into his brain, and it made his stomach turn. Again, he was glad he hadn't eaten anything, but he also knew he couldn't keep it up forever. So he had to face this mess eventually.

With a abortive snort, he sat up straight, glaring darkly at nothing in particular. He felt a crick in his neck and his bones hurt. Was it just him or was the floor even more uncomfortable in the police station than it was anywhere else?

Harms had kept to his word and had allowed him to sleep in one of their interrogation rooms. Cole had happily accepted it, and after calling Zeke and telling him he was okay, he had curled up in a corner with his bag for a pillow. The Conduit yawned and slowly climbed to his feet, stretching and snapping his bones back in place.

Oh well, a bit rest was still better than no rest at all.

He was about to leave the room, when he heard angry shouting.

"You know where that freak is!"

He frowned. Wasn't that the guy from a few days back? That Marine jerk?

"Tell me where he is!"

"Sir. I am sure there has been a misunderstanding...", Harms's voice spoke up, "What you claim cannot be possible."

"I have files on this freak! He's the only one able to produce such blasts!"

The voice got angrier. Cole reacted. If this got out of hand, the guy would probably hurt Harms- or worse. Moya's men had already massacred some of the remaining cops, like Hell he would allow this to happen to his friend.

He threw the door open and rushed outside, startling a few Marines that stood in the hallway, though he couldn't care less and easily evaded them, vaulted over a low desk and dove right at the Marine captain. The man had half the mind to whirl around and meet the Conduit, but Cole was faster and stronger than him.

The man's handgun went off the very second Cole slammed him into a wall and pinned him with his forearm to the throat. He didn't even flinch when the bullet bit into his side, instead his eyes narrowed and lightning began to lash out of his body.

"If you have to tell me something", the Conduit growled lowly, "Say it to my _face_ , but leave my friends out of it!"

To his credit, the captain didn't show any signs of discomfort on his face as he brought his gun up and pressed it against Cole's chin. His men stepped into position, lifting their rifles at the Conduit.

"Stop it!" Harms yelled, jumping in front of Cole.

"Yeah", Cole snarled, "Stop it, or I will fry your boss with enough voltage that you could fit him into a shoe box!"

"Then do it", the captain hissed, "Show us your true face, freak."

"Cole", Harms said, despite the trigger-happy soldiers around. "Don't hurt him."

"No? Why shouldn't I?"

"You would only prove his point", the warden reminded him. He glanced at the man Cole held pressed against the wall. "Why don't you tell him what you told me?"

"What? I don't have to justify myself in front of this freak."

"There is no Martial Law allowed anymore", Harms snapped, "Every single shoot you give off against any civilian is against the law, captain." His eyes narrowed. "And if you shoot the guy who _rescued_ the whole damn city, the public will have your sack on a spike. Put. Away. Your. Weapon."

The captain growled, but complied. His men also slowly lowered their rifles too, and once they did, Cole let the man go.

He wasn't very happy though, and glared at the captain. "What is this whole bullshit about?" He asked him, "Speak before I rip it straight outta your brain."

He saw something glint in the captain's eyes. Recognition, perhaps? Suspicion?

"You really don't know", he growled.

"No!" Cole snapped, "What am I supposed to know?!"

The Marine captain scowled deep. "My men had been attacked", he snarled, "Someone shot a bolt of lightning at them- took them apart."

"Bolt of lightning?!" Cole's eyes widened by a fraction. "How many are dead?"

"The entire group I sent to investigate the Neon", the captain snapped, "Ten of my men- blown to pieces!" He glared at the Conduit. "You are the only one here with this kind of power. So I am taking you in!"

"It can't be", Harms cut in, "Cole's been with me for most of the day. Hell- he's been over in the Warren during the time that happened."

The Neon? Shit. Zeke was over there. Zeke could be in danger!

Cole abruptly spun around and started to sprint down the hallway. The Marines tried to stop him, but he simply threw his arms up and smacked them aside with a kinetic pulse. Shit. He could apologize later. Zeke was more important.

He was dimly aware of shouting behind him, but by the time the Marines got back to their feet, he was already gone out of the building. Without wasting any more time, he launched himself off the floor, climbed over a flat building to turn towards the Neon.

 _'Hold on Z. I'm coming.'_


	4. Meeting the Ripper

**Author: Thanks for reviewing. Here is the next chapter. Buckle up and enjoy.**

* * *

Meeting the Ripper

"C'mon Zek- answer your damn phone!" Cole leaped across another alleyway, only to roll over the next rooftop to maintain his speed. Two blocks away from the police station he had finally enough brain capacity to simply _call_ his best friend instead of barreling out of the station like the Devil out of the Vatican.

But then Zeke didn't answer his phone and Cole's pulse jumped straight up to 180. He tried it again when he was halfway across the bridge. No answer.

Cold sweat ran down Cole's back and his lungs started burning when he pushed himself harder to move faster than he ever did before.

Then, halfway down the Neon District, his phone rang. Half his mind wanted to ignore it, just wanted to get to Zeke and see whether he's safe, but the other half was the one controlling his actions. So he took the call, even as he jumped across a massive gap.

" _Hey Cole, man"_

Cole botched the landing and hit the opposite roof hard, rolling from his own momentum until he slid face-first into an AC unit.

With a moan, he pried himself free of the wreckage, hearing Zeke's laughter over the radio.

" _Aw. Did you enjoy your trip?"_ , His room mate giggled.

"Yeah. Like I haven't heard that one before", Cole grunted. "Hold a sec-" He grabbed his nose and wrenched it back into place with pained groan. Electricity started to run across his body, healing bruises, scrapes and cuts within moments.

Zeke was still chuckling. _"What was that for, anyways? Cole, I know you. You once managed to cross half of the city's rooftops drunk outta your skull. You've been singing the national anthem backwards."_ He chuckled again. _"I mean you've been hangover for three days, for Christ's sake, but you didn't even stagger back then."_

Cole sighed as he climbed back to his feet. "I was panicking", he admitted.

His tone sobered Zeke up immediately. _"Why?"_ , he asked carefully. He knew perfectly well that his best friend wouldn't pick this choice of words if there wasn't anything seriously wrong.

"The guy who offed Andrew", Cole explained, "Sasha calls him the Ripper. He's been in Empire for nearly three weeks now."

" _Really, man?"_

"Yeah." Cole rubbed his scalp. "Anyways, he had also skinned some guy and let him hang to dry."

" _Gross. Are you sure it's the same one?"_

"Not really. Though it is possible. Could also be some other killer."

" _And the reason you rushed over here and tried calling me?"_

"Somebody's been over at the Neon, blowing people up with lightning bolts-" Cole was cut off by his best friend inhaling sharply. _"Shit! Kessler?!"_

"No idea. I had to check whether you were okay." He exhaled in relief. "It's good you are- but can you promise me something?"

" _Yeah?"_

"Don't go outside without me nearby, okay?"

" _Aww. You worried about me?"_

"Of course, you idiot", Cole groused. "It's your turn to pay the rent."

Zeke chuckled and the Conduit grinned for a few moments before turning serious again. "The thing is- I don't want to find _your_ headless corpse next."

" _Don't worry about me, bro. I can handle myself pretty well."_

"Z- I'm not joking. That guy's a killer. A hunter." Cole exhaled coldly. "The guy hunts for _trophies_ , Zeke. From strong guys."

" _Jesus"_ , Zeke gasped, _"But aren't you a bit more exposed than I am? I mean you're the Demon of Empire City- I'm just a hundred eighty pounds of sweat and witty comments."_

"I know", Cole sighed. "But at least I can heal myself. And I have super powers." His neck suddenly tickled. Without even knowing _why_ , the Conduit ducked to the side and dove behind the AC unit.

Seconds before a massive ball of pure energy tore a hole into the ground where he'd been.

" _Cole?! What's going on, man?!"_ , Zeke yelped.

"I think he found me", Cole growled.

" _WHAT?!"_

"Zeke- I can't talk now." He cut off and quickly hopped off the roof to a lower one, then dove behind the roof exit when he heard something that sounded like a discharge- seconds before the AC was torn apart in a brilliant flash of light. "Shit. I'll call you later!"

" _Cole-!"_

Cole clicked the radio off and activated his radar pulse. It came back positive, with a blurry outline appearing three roofs further down the block. He wondered why it was so strangely blurred, until he realized that with his eyes he couldn't _see anything_.

 _Shit. He's invisible._ Cole growled.

The figure moved, jumping off the roof it was perched on. Cole sucked in his breath when his stalker landed on another roof with a heavy thud, having crossed a distance of thirty yards with a single bound.

 _Great_

Cole saw the air ripple, a bit different from the heated air rising above the roof, then a pair of eyes flashing. In an instant, he knew it had discovered him, because seconds later the roof exit exploded in a shower of brick and mortar when the figure shot another ball of energy at his position. He growled and fashioned a lightning grenade in his hand, then moved quickly. He threw up his Polarity Shield and rushed out of his hide out. The invisible stalker noticed him and targeted him again. The energy projectile hit Cole's shield with incredible force, snuffing it out with a glorious blast- but the Conduit could still throw the grenade into the stalker's direction before the force of the blow catapulted him into a group of pipes.

The ball of lightning bounced off the floor once before it went up with a loud static crack. The stalker let out a surprised yell- which didn't sound _human_ at all- and stumbled back. His outlines crackled and blurred, seconds before electrical currents ran over his shape and rendered him visible.

Cole swallowed. That guy was huge.

And he must have been a Conduit, too. His skin was leathery and pale, with mottled green and dark brown splotches. His hands and feet were clawed, his torso broad. He stood at least seven to eight feet and was all muscles. His body was dressed in what could loosely be described as an archaic armor that merely shielded his groin, lower legs, forearms and shoulders. Other than that it looked like he was wearing some sort of metallic net, decorated with animal skulls as a necklace. Cole couldn't see his face, as he was wearing a massive helmet with shoulder-long dread-lock like hair poking out of it. There was some sort of weapon attached to his shoulder, and it moved along with his head's movements.

And Cole realized immediately that this was what Sasha called the Ripper.

He could only be a Conduit. One of the sick guys who only used their powers to dominate others. One of those idiots who made all others with powers look the same.

Cole growled and freed himself from the rubble, lightning rushing over his body. The Ripper didn't move, but he did hear a curious clicking.

"Who the hell are you?" Cole snapped, "And did you murder all those people?"

The Ripper inclined his massive head and clicked again. Then, with an incredibly raspy and cracked voice, he spoke. _**"Big Game tonight."**_

The gun on his shoulder started glowing when it spat out a blue orb of energy. Cole swore and threw his shield up, letting it swallow the projectile. Like before, he found himself flung through the air from the power of the impact, and he hit the floor hard.

He didn't stay down though. Three seconds later he was back on his feet, rushing to the end of the roof in a wide curve so the Ripper's blasts missed him by mere inches. After three shots, the masked man stopped with an excited howl. Cole could see the muzzle of his gun glow- any more shots and it would have overheated.

 _Too bad._

The Conduit lined up his arm with the Ripper, concentrating his focus. Time seemed to slow down when he targeted the killer and unleashed a bolt of lightning. His Precision shot connected and the Ripper staggered back- but the electricity somehow dissipated into his armor.

 _Okay. Shit._

The Ripper made that clicking sound again and lunged towards Cole. There were still two rooftops between them- but the masked man easily crossed one with a single bound.

Cole fired several lightning bolts at him in a rapid succession, though the Ripper easily dodged to the side and let the attacks hit the wall behind him- or the lightning was absorbed into his armor. Cole suspected that, maybe, he had some sort of draining device with him.

In which case it was going to suck trying to fry him.

But maybe he could overload it.

Cole scowled and quickly hurried over the roof, then leaped off and used his Static Thrusters to get to the roof on the other side of the street.

 _Whirr_

 _Click click_

 _Crank_

Pain exploded from Cole's shoulder. The Conduit bit back a startled scream and lost his focus, dropping when his Thrusters vanished. He managed to snatch a wire before he hit the floor, but his left arm wouldn't work.  
Cole hissed in pain and pulled himself up, then glared at the Ripper while balancing on the wire.

The other was holding a sort of rifle in his clawed hands, staring indifferently at the Conduit for a few seconds before he brought the rifle back up. He squeezed the trigger.

Cole threw up his Shield, stopping the projectiles, before he turned and scrambled hastily to the other end of the wire. The Ripper shot at him a few times more, though all of the projectiles only hit Cole's shield. The Conduit growled and quickly ducked behind the ventilation units for a short breather. Then he reached for the projectile embedded in his shoulder and yanked it out, before he set to drain some electricity out of the unit to heal the wound.

The thing that hit him was roughly Y-shaped and about half as long as his palm, but it wasn't a magnetic metal.

 _Thuck_

Cole's head whipped up, his eyes narrowing at the thing that was stuck in the metal of the Air Conditioner. It was flat, circular with a blade on either side. And it had missed completely.

He frowned, then carefully glanced around the corner to the Ripper. Last time he tried drawing him out, he blew up the object he'd been hiding behind. But now?  
The Ripper lifted his hand and tapped his gauntlets.

Cole's eyes widened in shock.

 _KRATHOOOM_

The small round thing exploded with the force of an RPG missile, directly next to the Conduit. Cole didn't have any time to shout as he was flung through the air and fell off the roof to hit the one beneath. His ears rang as he blinked away the dark spots creeping into his vision. Shit. His insides felt as if they were on fire and his guts heaved.

He had done some time in college and he had seen enough crime series to know that the shock wave was worse than the blast itself, for it traveled through every object and ruptured the soft tissue beneath. He struggled back to his feet and grabbed a fuse box, draining it to heal- but unlike with bullet wounds, this took much longer and hurt a lot more.

Cole wanted to throw up, but quickly fought down the urge as his insides burnt and pulled themselves back together again. He heard a snarl and quickly aborted the draining, diving to take cover behind a corner again. The Ripper followed him, leaping off his perch and landing on the roof Cole just fell off from.

Shit. No more time to heal- that quick fix must have been enough. Cole grit his teeth and created another grenade. He lugged it out of his hideout towards the Ripper, waiting for it to go off before he dashed back around and focused his Precision shot on his foe. He zapped the masked Conduit three times in the short time he needed to throw himself from one cover to the other, then quickly hopped off the rooftop to land inside an alley. He grabbed another fuse box and drained it to keep his energy levels up, seconds before three more bombs thudded into the asphalt. Cole kicked off the floor and created a shield beneath himself to use the explosion's shockwave to quite literally ride on it and get back topside. He grabbed a rainwater pipe and latched onto it, them shot several lightning bolts into the Ripper's general direction to throw him off balance before he scrambled upwards.

A few more of the Y-shaped projectiles hit the brick where he had been seconds before, urging Cole to move faster.

His insides rebelled from this harsh treatment, but he knew he couldn't afford to slow down. He hoisted himself up on the rooftop, just in time for one of those things to bury into his right shoulder.

Cole bit back a groan as he whirled around and created another Shield, seconds before another energy blast threw him off his feet once more. He hit the tar roof hard, and this time a pained shout wrenched itself out of his throat when the projectile dug even deeper into his flesh, easily piercing his bone and rendering his entire right shoulder stiff and immovable.

 _Shit_

The Ripper hauled his arm back, a circular disk clenched in his claws before he whipped to the front, throwing the thing right at Cole. The Conduit growled and smashed a kinetic blast into its direction, hitting the disk out of mid-air and also smacking the Ripper off his perch further down. The guy made a startled noise that sounded more like a howling dog than human, but managed to hit the floor with his feet first and in a roll, so he was easily back upright again.

The Ripper snorted once. _**"Good Game"**_ , he croaked. _**"Game Over."**_

He tapped his wrist device again.

Cole ducked back, waiting for something to go boom again, but there was nothing. Instead, he heard the whistle of something slicing through the air. From behind.  
He whirled around, trying to locate whatever he heard when suddenly something bit into his side. He glanced down, dumbfounded, witnessing the disk slip through his flesh and return to its owner. Cole blinked, watching how the hem of his shirt dropped down, followed by a sticky red liquid. His fingers went there automatically, and it took him a good few seconds to realize that it was _his blood_ that ran down from his side.

The pain hit him like the explosions before did. His flank was on fire, hurting like it never did before. That wasn't just a bruise, or torn ligaments he was so used to. This was different. And it _hurt._ Cole howled out, before he bit down on his hand to stifle his cries.

That was when he saw another energy projectile hurl towards him. He only had time to stare in shock before it hit him, scorched through his flesh and tore a good-sized _crater_ right into his chest. He was thrown back, hitting the air conditoning unit at full force. His body screamed in protest, but at the same time it cried out in relief when the high-power current raced through him, numbed his pain and patched the injuries together.

But the Ripper was upon him before he could finish healing. He grabbed the Conduit and ripped him out of the electric field, then flung him onto the next roof.

Cole gasped in pain, and rolled over, just in time to see the Ripper crush into the roof nearby. He grabbed a short staff from his belt that suddenly snapped out, extending into a lance.

"Shit!" Cole hissed. Lightning arched around his arms and he flung out the one that was still working, blasting the Ripper with all he got. The masked man swayed back, roaring. Cole pounced back to his feet, tackling the Ripper with his entire body weight, and charged up again. The close contact and the extreme amount of electricity that shot through both men was too much for the Ripper's defenses. Thousands of volts slammed into him, making him howl out in genuine pain.

But he was still a tough bastard.

Cole grunted in extertion. He was hurting all over and his wounds hadn't healed fully yet, sapping his strength. Plus, all the charge he's gotten off the AC unit was quickly drained away, so in the end, he was only sparking weakly while the Ripper recovered way too fast.

Cole shoved hard against him and jumped backwards, then managed to dodge around the Ripper's wild spear swing and hop on top of another wire. He ground along the metallic surface, picking up speed as he left his pursuer behind.

 _He hunts for strong men. He's strong, maybe even stronger than you._

No shitting, Sasha.

He heard a sharp hiss from behind, before he was hit by a full blast of that energy weapon. It ripped through his back and scorched his flesh, throwing him roughly across the roof.

The world turned gray and Cole's blood roared in his ears as he weakly tried to stand again. He needed some more juice and a moment respite before he could try to tackle the guy again, but he knew the guy wouldn't let up. The ground buckled behind him, making him glance over his shoulder. The Ripper was back. His skin too was scorched and parts of his weird net-armor was torn, but he seemed more energetic than before.

" _ **Good Move"**_ , he snarled, followed by a rapid clicking.

"Yeah?!" Cole bit back, "I still have some of that left!"

He whirled back around, scrunched up the last remains of his power and unleashed a massive thunderbolt at the Ripper. The masked man ducked to the side, though he wasn't fast enough and ended up getting scorched in some places.

But it only made him... _happier._ A deep, throaty chuckly came from the guy, even as Cole dove to the side. He was near the train tracks, he realized. And tracks means a third rail. And that meant electricity. The Conduit send out another radar pulse, quickly tagging the closest source of energy, and jumped towards it. It was a generator that happily gurgled on top of this roof. Cole latched onto it and drained it, feeling his strength return. He couldn't move his right arm, so he was going to need Zeke to dig that accursed projectile out of his shoulder, but first he had to beat that sucker.

The Ripper lunged towards him again, spear lifted high over his head. Cole met him halfway up. He twisted his body to the side a bit, but not enough to avoid the thrust completely.

The weapon burrowed through his body, from beneath his ribcage to exit near the hind part of his hips. But that also meant he was close enough.

The Conduit bit back the pain and charged his left hand, creating his Gigawatt Blade. Static electricity raced up his arm as he slammed his fist with the blade straight into the Ripper's mask.

There was a pained yelp and the sharp hiss of air when the mask flew off, and the Ripper staggered back in shock. Cole himself managed to jump off him and land several feet away from his foe. The spear was still stuck, but he made short process with it as he simply yanked it out of his side, then heated up his fingers to burn the wound and stop the bleeding.

It hurt like a bitch, he realized too late.

The Ripper growled and turned back around, and Cole's mind went blank.

The face that stared at him was definitely _not_ human.

The skull was flat and adorned with ridges. The dreadlock-like hair grew right out of the scaly skin, and a set of shorter bristles adorned the Ripper's brows. The eyes were tiny, yellow and sunken into the massive skull. He had no nose, or lips- or a chin. A small fanged jaw sat in the middle of his face and a set of mandibles grew on either side of it.  
Cole's attack had also taken out one of his eyes, as there was a deep grove from the side of his face right across the brow. Lumniscent green blood trickled down, running over the clicking mandibles.

"You're one piss-ugly piece of shit", Cole muttered. The Ripper clicked again, then spread his mandibles to the side and roared at the Conduit, before he flicked his wrist. Two long, curved blades popped out of his gauntlet.

The Ripper then moved to grab the Conduit, but his aim was slightly off because of the missing eye. Cole ducked to the side and used the spear to slam it like a bat into the killer's side. The Ripper reacted, and his clawed hand closed like a vice around the weapon while he swung his blades at Cole's face.

The Conduit let got with a curse and ducked away from the blow. His power levels were too low to conjure his Gigawatt Blade again, so he settled for shooting a lightning bolt at point-blank range. The Ripper staggered back with a growl, swinging his spear at Cole's head. Cole ducked again and tried to rush around the killer and stay in his blind spot. But the Ripper expected it. He whirled the spear again, this time lower, so the Conduit had to jump over it.

In the split second he was in mid-air, the Ripper acted.

The blades on his gauntlets slammed into Cole's stomach, burrying deep into his insides. The killer lifted the Conduit a bit off the ground, before flicking his wrist and sending him flying into the wall of the roof exit.

Cole gasped in pain, eyes wide. His healing abilities kicked in, but he didn't have enough juice to speed it up. His body began to lock up, but he was still aware that the Ripper approached him. He receeded his spear and placed it on his belt, but lifted his blades to finish the wounded Conduit.

Cole grit his teeth enraged.

 _I am not going to end up like those other poor suckers. I will not die!_

He jerked to the side, pressing his arm against the gash on his stomach as he blindly dove away from the killer, so he sunk his weapons into the brick. Cole threw his body weight against the Ripper's leg to make him lose his balance, then continued his mad dash away. He needed juice, damnit.

His vision had gone gray again, but over the roar of his own blood he heard something rumble in the distance. He fought to keep his balance and tried to run, but this time his own body betrayed him. He stumbled and dropped to his knees, coughing and retching, hacking up large amounts of blood.

 _Internal injuries. Joy._

His side suddenly exploded in white-hot pain and he found himself flung around like a ragdoll. His vision turned black for a moment, but he kept battling against the creeping darkness. He realized that the Ripper kicked him over, because a second later the guy grabbed his throat and lifted him mercilessly. Cole gasped and clawed at the metal of the gauntlet and scaly hide of his captor, hoping to break free. The Ripper only clicked his mandibles once, before he thrust his wrist-mounted blades deep into the Conduit's body once more.

This time, however, he kept the hold on Cole and dragged the weapons _upwards_. Cole didn't have any strength to scream as he felt his muscles tear and bones crack under the pressure. The rumbling came closer.

" _Colllleeeeeee!"_

Trish's shriek echoed in Cole's empty mind.

" _You are weak. Soft."_ Kessler's voice said.

The rumble was beneath them now. The Conduit's eyes widened. _I! Will! Not! Die!_

His body convulsed once, gathering all energy he had left to unleash it in one last outburst of electricity. The power was so great, it separated the two from another. The Ripper was sent flying over the roof, while Cole ended up hurling off the edge. Metal raced towards him, meeting him with a harsh smack.

He had fallen directly on the last compartment of the cable car, and it took him away from the Ripper fast.

Cole groaned and tried to move. He had to get to the leading waggon. There was electricity there and he could heal.

He managed to crawl three whole feet before his body collapsed. He couldn't breathe anymore, couldn't fight back the darkness claiming him.

His last coherent thought was Trish's smile and everything faded away.


	5. Aftermath

**Author: Thanks for reviewing. Oh. Before you ask, I have my reasons for maiming our poor hero so much. You will read all of it later on, in chapters 6 and 7.**

* * *

Aftermath

Zeke wrung his hands, knotting his fingers as he paced up and down the living room. One hand went up, tousling his hair and pushing his sunglasses back up as he threw a worried glance at the telephone sitting innocently on the low coffee table. He wanted to call Cole, to make sure he was okay- but then he remembered that calling him might cause him to lose focus and end up being killed by that murderer.

Zeke moaned and went back to wringing and pacing. Cole was his best friend, his only _real_ friend, and it was his job to make sure he was okay. But during the whole mess he had pushed Cole until he had snapped at him for the whole shit at the prison (which had been Zeke's fault entirely, he knew). And then he had finally broken that bond when he ran away with Kessler like a damn coward, instead of trying to fight. Cole had every right to hate him.

He glanced at the telephone again and his throat swelled up with fear. Cole had said that this guy hunts for _trophies_. He ripped off people's heads to hang over his fireplace, damnit.

And the last thing he said to him was "I think he found me."

Oh shit. Zeke didn't want to think of having to identify Cole's corpse- cold and dead, spine and head missing like poor Andy. It made his stomach turn.

Shit. He thought about it.

Zeke dropped his butt onto the couch and burried his face in his hands, panting to fight back the nausea and the choking sobs. He didn't want to think about it. Cole's strong. Much stronger than anybody out there. Hell, he's seen it first-hand when he defeated Kessler and that black abomination.

But was he strong enough to take out what that crazy bitch Sasha called 'The Ripper'?

Zeke hoped so.

His phone went off like a bomb, startling him so bad he jumped off the couch. The phone kept on ringing and Zeke stared at it, trying to comprehend what was going on.

The phone was still ringing when Zeke finally realizes that it was _ringing._ And that could only mean one thing.

 _Cole!_

Zeke lunged at the telephone and ripped it off the table, slamming it against his ear.

"Shit Cole! I was worried sick!"

The silence that greeted him felt like a bucket of cold water down his back. But he had to try. "Cole?" He asked again, carefully.

" _Hey Zeke"_ That definitely was _not_ Cole. Zeke frowned and removed the phone from his ear, staring at the caller ID. It really wasn't his best friend.

"Harms?"

" _Yeah"_

Zeke exhaled shakily. "Shit. I thought you were Cole for a moment."

Harms was unnaturally silent. _"Zeke- do you know what he had planned?"_ He eventually asked. There was something about his tone that made Zeke anxious. "He was about to head here", he explained, "Because of some stuff going on."

" _Do you know about the Ripper?"_ Harms asked and Zeke felt his blood run cold. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit. That was _exactly_ where he didn't want this conversation to go.

"Cole?" Zeke managed to press out. Oh no. Please God, don't let him be dead.

" _Alive",_ Harms replied and it felt like a Alden's Tower's worth of fear dropped from Zeke's shoulders. _"But not well"_ , the warden suddenly added and the anxiousness was back. Zeke nearly dropped the phone.

"Where?" He managed to press out.

Harms exhaled once. _"They found him at the North End train station."_

"Shit"

" _Could you come over? I am still asking the witnesses."_

Zeke furrowed his brows. The North Station was pretty close. Cole needed him and he needed him now. He shouldn't lose any more time. "I'm coming over", he said. "See you there, Harms."

" _Hurry up, but be careful."_

"Don't worry", Zeke gave back already halfway out of the door. He clicked the phone off and hurried down the stairs.

* * *

At any other day Zeke would have bragged about making it to the North Station in such a short amount of time. He wasn't very athletic and far from being as good of an urban explorer as Cole was- but he could keep up with his best friend when he wasn't being serious about running. He didn't run into any trouble on the way there, though to be honest, he barely had any thinking capacity left to pay it any mind. His brain was occupied with what Harms said.

 _Cole's alive. But not well._ What did he meant with it? Where was Cole, anyways? And why did _'They found him'_ sound so ominous?

He found the warden easy enough. The man stood in front of a cable car train, talking to a man who looked like the conductor. Zeke could see a few more on-lookers standing nearby, whispering amongst themselves. There were at least two more cops around- but no sign of Cole. Nobody seemed to acknowledge him as he drew closer- except for the warden.

"Where's he?" Zeke asked. He had to make sure his best friend was okay, but he couldn't see him anywhere.

"They've taken him to the hospital", Harms said in a crestfallen tone.

 _The hospital?_ Zeke blanched. _Was it that bad?!_ "How- how bad is it?" He managed to croak out, eyes wide beneath his shades.

"Very", Harms just said. He looked older than Zeke remembered. And weary to his bones. "It's...it's very bad." He shrugged one shoulder into the direction of the train, and Zeke followed the motion.

His jaw dropped open and his eyes went wide at the sight of the sheer amount of _blood_ that was splattered over the last compartment of the train. It had flown in streams from the roof and had dried along the sides.

"That-that can't be", Zeke whispered in shock, "Cole- he doesn't _bleed_."

"It's his", Harms replied darkly. Zeke stared at him.

"You don't get it!" He snapped, "My brother doesn't bleed because he always heals!" That much was true- he'd once seen Cole cut himself while shaving- but the cut closed before a single drop of blood could be shed.

But if that really was _his_ blood, then what in the blazing Hells had happened here?

Harms's hand dropped on his shoulder. "You don't want it to be true. Trust me- none of us want to." He exhaled again, eyes darkening. "But it was Cole. No doubt about it."

"Shit. What happened?" Zeke asked, struggling to keep his emotions under control. He couldn't break down here.

"Tell him", Harms said to the conductor.

The man frowned for a moment, then began speaking. "I was making my normal tour, you know? There wasn't anything weird, until some of the passengers said that there were explosions somewhere in the city. I thought it were only Reapers and didn't think any of it." He swallowed, then continued. "But then something hit the train. Again, I wasn't overly worried- but then there was the _blood_. I stopped at the next station and got out- and there he was. On top of the train." He winced. "I thought he was dead- Hell, I've never seen a guy look that pale- but when the medics arrived, they said he was still _alive_. Rushed him off immediately."

He swallowed again, looking uncertainly. "Don't know what happened. Always thought you can't beat a guy like him. Hell, I've been on the train he rescued weeks ago. Nothing seemed to faze that dude."

"Something did", Harms added darkly. "I got reports of explosions along the train tracks. There were some holes where something was blown up- along with electrical scorch marks."

"He fought that guy", Zeke realized, "The Ripper."

"But didn't win", Harms finished. "Holy shit. I thought there was nothing he couldn't beat since David."

"We have to go to the hospital!" Zeke snapped. "Now! I can't leave my brother there alone!" He winced. "And I don't think they know how he works."

Harms eyed him for a second. "Good. C'mon, I'll take you there."

* * *

Harms stayed with him as long as they needed to check up on the process. He had work to do to find the Ripper though, but he promised Zeke he would be back. Now, Zeke sat on a chair, staring at the cup of coffee in his hands.

Cole was still in surgery, and there was nothing he could do other than waiting.

He didn't move for hours, just sitting there and staring at the coffee, even as it turned cold. His mind was blank, and he wanted nothing more than wake up and find this all a bad dream. He couldn't believe that this was _real_ , after all, Cole was so powerful that nothing ever seemed to have an effect on his health. Hell, he only became stronger with each foe he fought.

But now all of this seemed so surreal.

Zeke's eyes stung, drawing his attention to the windows. It was already dark outside.

 _How much time had passed?_

"Excuse me?"

Zeke flinched and jerked around, staring wide-eyed at a blonde woman in a nurse uniform. She blinked at him, clutching a clipboard to her chest. Her name tag said 'Rachel'.

"Sorry", she began, "I didn't want to startle you. But are you Zeke Dunbar?"

 _Cole! This was about Cole!_ "What is with him?!" Zeke asked in panic, grabbing her shoulders. "How's Cole?"

The woman blinked again, eyes large and worried. "He-he's asleep now", she stammered. Zeke stared at her, mouth hanging open. Did she just say what he thought she said?

"Can-I see him?"

"Only family is allowed to visit him", she told him, "Strict orders."

Zeke scoffed. "His dad liked his girlfriend more, his mom hated the job he picked for himself and his brother is a little whiny bitch. I'm his best friend though and I know him better than his own folks."

Rachel furrowed her brows, then wrote 'brother' down on her clipboard. "He's still unconscious, though", she said. Her tone dropped and her expression seemed to darken. "We aren't sure whether he will wake up again."

Zeke's heart stopped for a moment. "What?"

"The injuries were...severe", the nurse explained with a frown, even as they walked down the endless hallways. "We don't know how he survived them in the first place, or whether he will live through the night."

Zeke halted his motion and eyed her. "How bad is it?" He asked. She glanced at him uncertainly, before she pressed her hand to a door and slowly shoved it open. "Judge for yourself, Mister Dunbar."

Zeke gasped when he finally caught a glimpse of Cole. Without waiting for the nurse to allow him entrance, he already rushed inside and grabbed his friend's hand. It was like touching ice.

"Shit Cole, what have they done to you?" He mumbled. Tears were biting his eyes, but other than the beeping of the various machines the Conduit was hooked to, there was no answer. Cole was silent and extremely pale, his chest was barely rising, though there was a tube rammed down his throat that helped him breathe. A number of IVs were attached to his arms and an heart monitor was beeping weakly in the background. His torso and arms were wrapped with bandages, but his face was mostly free of injuries.

"There was...excessive surgery necessary", Rachel spoke up from besides Zeke, "To save his life."

"How excessive?" Zeke asked, carefully patting his friend's hand in vague hopes of getting a reaction out of him.

Rachel sighed and looked at the clipboard again. "According to the reports, he had multiple deep cuts all over his body", she started, "Caused by what we believe were parallel blades."

Zeke arched his brows. Dual blades? So it was the Ripper. Shit, guess they were lucky Cole kept both his spine and his head.

"He had massive third-degree, maybe even fourth-degree, burns on both his chest and back, as if he was hit by concentrated fire." She turned the sheet. "His ear drums had been busted, too. There is a number of smaller scars at both shoulders. During surgery, we also removed a foreign object from his right shoulder joint that had damaged the bone and rendered his arm immobile."

Zeke winced. He knew how bad something like that was to a guy like Cole- he needed both arms for his moves.

"A deep cut just above his left hip", Rachel continued, "It separated the muscle tissue there and sliced into his small intestine and chipped the hip bone, then there was another injury that appears to have been caused by an impalement."

"Jesus", Zeke groaned. "But I know Cole", he added, "I've seen him getting burried by a few tons of trash metal, and he was completely fine after that."

Rachel sighed. "I know. His skin is pretty durable- we did break a few needles, but it's the _internal_ injuries that have caused most damage."

She lifted the blanket a bit, showing Zeke the white bandages that coated most of the Conduit's torso. They were dyed pink already. "His internal organs have lost most of their structure", she told him, "I've seen it before, during my internship. That only happens when you are too close to an explosion- your organs rupture without you having any chance of defense."

"Shit", Zeke gasped.

Rachel nodded slowly. "And then he was impaled by those dual blades, at least two times." She paused, her face settling into a grimace. "The damage done on the internal side was immense", she told Zeke. "We had to remove his spleen, one kidney, most of his liver and intestines to stem the hemorrhaging." Zeke winced, turning pale, but Rachel still continued. "The digestive tract had been seriously damaged too, so he's going to suffer from a serious inflammation. That is- _if_ he survives the impaled pericardium and the overall loss of blood." She shook her head sadly. "And we had to re-inflate his lungs too."

Zeke just stared at her in shock. "Cole- he survived this?"

"Barely", the nurse admitted. "He did die a few times during surgery, though we managed to get him back in the nick of time."

Zeke groaned and dropped onto the chair that was next to the door. "Holy piss", he whined, "Cole's tough, but I don't think he can survive this."

Suddenly he chuckled, but it was an hysteric kind of chuckle. "You know what really sucks?" He asked the nurse. "Cole- he survived that damn explosion that leveled the Historic District, despite being at the _center_ of it. He survived being hunted by the entirety of Empire- because they thought he was the one who planted the bomb." He snorted. "Cole's a courier", he explained to Rachel. "So it wasn't his fault this damn thing went off- he didn't even know _what_ he was carrying."

"I thought as much", Rachel agreed with a sad tone. "I know what he did for us- for Empire City. I'm grateful, because he saved so many."

"Yeah", Zeke grunted, "He took out that bitch that controlled the Reapers, he defeated the guy who lead the Dustmen, he killed the real terrorist in a glorious one-on-one fight...Hell, he even beat back that invasion attempt _and_ he defeated that overgrown science experiment." He snorted again, but this time there was a wet sob mixed with it. "And now? All it takes is a _nutjob_ carving him up like prime beef to render him to that state?"

Rachel sighed and placed a comforting hand on Zeke's shoulder. "Life's a bitch", she said. "Listen- if there is anything we can do to help, just tell us."

Zeke furrowed his brows. Because of all this, he had forgotten the most important thing.

"There is", he said slowly as his brain started working again. "What do you know about his powers?"

Rachel blinked. "Uh...I know he can control lightning."

"Not only", Zeke said. "Essentially, Cole's a _battery_. He stores electricity and can give it off again." He jumped to his feet, whirling around to grab the nurse on her shoulders. "Cole can _heal_ when he has juice, you know?"

Rachel blinked. "So...you are saying-"

"Hook him up to a generator", Zeke suggested, "I know- normal people won't survive it, but Cole's different."

"It would work?" Rachel didn't seem to be convinced.

"Yeah", Zeke nodded. "C'mon. It's the only chance we have to get him back to his feet."

The nurse furrowed her brows for several moments. "I will try to make it happen, then." She smiled at Zeke. "You're a good friend, you know?"

The other rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Trying to make up to Cole, you know? I did a lot of shit during this whole mess, and he pulled me out several times. I owe him."

* * *

The sky was dark above him as the 'Ripper' landed on a flat roof. His armor had been damaged during the hunt, forcing him to repair it before he could continue to stalk his prey. He clicked his mandibles together behind his mask. These creatures, these oomans- they were soft. Weak.

However, they were cunning and clever. He knew a lot of brothers who respected them for it. But never before they have heard of such powers they had. When he had arrived in this city jungle, he hadn't expected to face oomans such as those he met here. They were strong- some even more than others.

He had been surprised to see them have such powers, and it made the hunt all the more honorable.

The strongest of them was this man, the one they called 'Demon'. The Hunter had been impressed as he watched him fight through hundreds of enemies without appearing worse for wear. He had seen him take down foes even he considered powerful prey without flinching.

He had studied him, watched him, saw how he rose in power. He was perfect prey, but he was also unique. He knew he had to savor the hunt.

And he did. For three weeks, he had not taken the hunt to the last stage, content with stalking the lesser prey.

But when the man learnt of him, the Hunter decided to finally finish his prey.

They fought, and he was surprised to see the man fight back. He was good prey, fighting and surviving wounds that would have killed any other ooman. He had even taken out his eye- a feat unheard of before.

The Hunter respected him for it. But he was still prey.

He might have escaped from him the day before, but now he was weak. Unaware.

Ripe for taking.

The Hunter snorted and jumped off the roof, landing on the large building the oomans had their healers in. He knew the man was here, and he knew where exactly he was.

He easily dropped to the level he was at. Turning invisible, he climbed through the window into a room. The room was empty, but there was a device there that he knew. Such things produced the energy the oomans needed.

The Hunter clicked and walked through the door, then headed to the room besides this one. He eyed the cable on the ground curiously, then easily slid through the door towards his prey.

A fat man sat in a chair next to the door, sleeping. The Hunter glanced at him. He had a weapon, but he was hardly worthy prey. Now the other man...

His eye narrowed behind his mask at the sight of his prey.

He was weak now. Machines of all kinds surrounded him and- he realized with a disgusted snort- kept him _alive_. The Hunter grabbed a few of the cables and tubes hanging around the man, tugging at them with a scowl.

Was he still prey, even in this weakened state? He prodded the man, but other than a weak spark there was no reaction.

Was it still a hunt to take him down?

Or would it be mercy?

He snorted, trying to figure out what to do now. He had hunted him, all according to the code. But the man had managed to flee and delay him. Now he wasn't prey anymore.

The Hunter inclined his head, frowning at the beeping machine. Every good hunter was told to not make the prey suffer, and this one was suffering, even if he wasn't aware of it.

It would be an honorable death if he released him from this weakness.

The Hunter stepped back and grabbed his spear, clicking it to its full length. It was a shame, really, the man had been so strong before and now he wouldn't even realize his end was near.

The Hunter lifted his weapon and was about to thrust it downwards, when he suddenly noticed something. His eye narrowed and he slowly put the spear down, tapping the side of his mask.

He switched away from the heat vision and flicked through a few more different hues until he saw the nervous system light up.

His mandibles clicked together in confusion. The man was _healing_ , he noticed. Not just healing- the ooman's healers had removed parts of his body, and those were _growing back_.

The Hunter clicked again, this time in excitement. His prey was regenerating. Becoming healthy again.

Becoming prey worthy of hunt once more.

He stepped closer, grabbing a small pouch at his side. It was filled with paint, and he used it to draw a line on the man's cheek. Marking him as prey. The Hunter clicked again and grabbed his necklace, plucking off one of the skulls there. He placed it near the man's head before he walked back outside the room again. Once he wakes up, he will know what it means.

The Hunter swung himself out of the window and headed back to the roof. He would wait for his prey to become healthy again, before he would hunt him again.

He could be patient, but there was also some more prey still within the city he could hunt to pass time.

He leapt off into the darkness.


	6. Awakening

**Author: Another chapter. Geez. I needed around three weeks for the next one. I blame Pokémon and [PROTOTYPE], which I played through twice (and only died three times, fuck those RPG missiles).**

 **Hey, fun fact: I believe Trish lived with Cole and Zeke, at least from the moment of the blast. Cole mentioned that the supply drops 'Could feed the three of them for weeks', and Zeke later claimed that Trish came around and got her stuff from their apartment. Just a thought.**

* * *

Awakening

The news about the Ripper had made the round in Empire startlingly fast. They didn't have a newspaper anymore, but they had radio, the 'Voice of Survival' and a well-working gossiping line. And when the people learnt that the guy had handed Cole, the very guy who single-handedly saved the entire city, his own ass to him, panic started to grab them. Nobody dared to go outside alone anymore. Nobody dared to venture through Empire without any sort of weapon. Any and all sudden movement was met with fear and extreme violence.

Zeke thought it was a bit of luck to know that they didn't know where exactly Cole was (though the Bayview was the only place they could have brought him, maybe they were being respectful), so his friend could heal in peace.

Or- and this was what the TV Jacker had claimed- it was Cole's presence that had lured the Ripper here and thus, everybody around him was in danger. Zeke just wished he would get his hands on that idiot and give him a piece of his mind. First he claimed that Cole was the one who planted the bomb (well, in the end he was almost right, but it wasn't _this_ Cole, though rather _another_ Cole) and now he spewed this garbage about the Ripper. Hell, they didn't even know the guy existed until he talked to Sasha.

But who can blame him? There was a lot more on his mind than just a bunch of dead Reapers or Dustmen.

But Zeke felt that there was something they didn't see. Something that didn't sit right with him, he just didn't know what it was. So now he stood in front of the Bayview Hospital. Again.

Since it was open for business again, about all of the sick and injured people had come here in hopes of being treated. But that meant there was no place for family or friends to stay in.

He had spent one night on this chair and had woken with a horrible stiff neck and aching all over.

Well, not as much as Cole probably did when the Ripper sliced him open, but still. Zeke winced when he remembered how selfish he'd been. Cole was suffering far worse than he had, and trying to put himself before his best friend just seemed so distasteful.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, rolling his shoulders. It was the third day after he had found his best friend at the hospital, and the second he came back here to just sit a few hours with him, hoping he'd wake up. He only was around during the afternoon and evening hours, since during the morning and noon he would hang around with the warden or scout the Internet for clues about that sorry son of a bitch who tried to eviscerate his best friend. Linda, the reporter, had promised she'd help him and see what she would find on the case.

He was aware that they needed more information. His fingers curled around a small hard object in his pocket. He scowled deeply.

When he discovered the animal skull next to Cole in the hospital, his heart nearly stopped in panic. He had realized that the Ripper had been there- had been close enough to his best friend to put that skull on his pillow. And he hadn't even noticed it.

He hadn't been further than five feet away from his friend when the very guy who has gutted him returned, but didn't realize the lethal danger Cole had been in. His first instincts had been to get Harms to have a group of cops guard his best friend, when he recognized that if the killer would have wanted to kill Cole, he would have done so. Instead, he had left him a warning.

 _He hunts for trophies._ Cole had said. _From strong guys._ Zeke assumed that the state he was in wasn't what the Ripper wanted. So, ironically, his own handiwork had been the reason Cole survived that hospital encounter.

He had asked Rachel to keep him updated on everything that happened. She had promised to do so. Zeke liked the nurse. Whenever he was around, she would find time to check up on him and Cole, though she was always busy with all the other patients they had.

So she was the first one Zeke looked for when he entered through the main entrance. He eyed the many people running around. Real doctors and nurses were rare, especially after Alden had taken over the district, but there were a lot of volunteers and medicine students. It still wasn't enough to stem the tide of injured civilians, and Zeke could see most of those in scrubs looking as if they came by at the skin of their teeth themselves.

At least the Marines had brought in a batch of field medics when they came to Empire. So there was this one positive thing.

"Zeke!"

He turned at Rachel's voice. The nurse came to him, smiling tiredly. "Good to see a person who doesn't need my help."

"Yeah", Zeke rubbed the back of his neck. "I kinda brought you something." He grabbed into his other pocket and pulled out a bar of chocolate. "It's already half-melted and I seriously don't know how long it had sat in that store, but I thought you might like it?"

 _Good work Dunbar. Your best friend is half dead and you flirt with the nurse. Really smooth._

"I don't mind", Rachel smiled. "It's something to eat at least."

She moved to the front, motioning for Zeke to follow her. "I haven't eaten anything in the past few hours", she admitted, "And I'm running on caffeine only."

"So much to do?"

"Yeah. But I won't complain. I help wherever I can."

"How's the Warren anyways?" Zeke asked.

The nurse sighed. "Things are starting to look up", she said. "At least the Dustmen leave us alone most of the time and the Marines are actually helping the people. But it hasn't been the same since the blast."

"I doubt anything willever be the same", Zeke mumbled. Suddenly something caught his attention. Footprints. Coated in what looked like a reddish-brown liquid.

Rachel noticed them too, but unlike him, she bent down to touch the stuff. All alarm bells went up in Zeke's head as he stopped her. "Don't touch it", he warned her. "I don't like it."

 _Zeke. This is your time to shine._ He carefully pushed past Rachel and pulled his gun from his belt. "Stay behind me", he mouthed. He paused for a moment before he handed her his phone. "And call the warden, Harms. Tell him something's going on here."

Rachel nodded and pulled back, leaving Zeke alone in front of the door. _This is your brother in there- and he is in danger._

Zeke exhaled once and tried to steel himself. He wasn't as brave as Cole was, but he was fiercly loyal to his friend. After he left him for Kessler, all he could do was to show him that he could always count on him.

Always, no matter the problem.

Zeke nudged the door open, inhaled sharply, then threw the door open all the way and jumped through.

"Whoever you are!" He yelled, "Step away from my brother!"

"The fat man. How delightful."

Zeke froze at the voice. It was raspy and mingled with a constant gargle, but no less sensual. A pair of crimson eyes with pupils the size of pinheads glared at him.

 _Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit._

Zeke swallowed at the sight of the other occupant in the room. He had never met her, but Cole had been very detailed in his descriptions: Painfully thin, shaved head, gray skin, claws for fingers and entirely nude with the exception of a short hooded jacket. She sat there on the bed, with the unconscious Conduit's head and shoulders on her lap, cradling him in some twisted gesture of care.

"S-Sasha", Zeke pressed out, gun shaking in his hand. Shit! Cole said he had troubles when fighting her, but now? He was out cold and Zeke was a hundred eighty pounds sweat and witty comments. He had a gun, but what good would it do on a Conduit who was strong enough to take on Cole?

But he had to try, damnit!

Zeke swallowed and slowly lifted his gun, leveling it at Sasha's head. "Okay. Get out of here", he ordered, hoping she wouldn't hear his shaking voice, "I warn you- I am a good shot."

"You can try, fat man", the female Conduit hissed, flicking out her multiple tongues, "But you will not overcome me!"

"Zeke!" Rachel shouted as she rushed inside, "I called for-" She stopped, staring at the other female. Sasha hissed and ducked over Cole, staring daggers at the nurse.

"Another one?" She shrieked, "Another who tries to take my love away?!"

"What?!" Well, to her credits, Rachel did keep her head. Zeke assumed she must have had enough contact with crazy to know how to deal with it. "I'm the nurse taking care of him!" She stepped towards the Conduit, looking ready to spill some blood.

"Taking care!" Sasha hissed, "You call _this_ 'taking care'? You crippled him! Gutted him! And dare to call it 'Care'?!" Her body was shaking with rage as she fixed the nurse with an fiery glare, and her claws were curled dangerously close to Cole's jugular.

"We did what was necessary", Rachel growled back, eyes narrow. "And at least- _we_ didn't take him _off life support_!"

Zeke gasped in horror. How could he miss this? The tube lay discarded on the floor, and also several of the others were scattered around where Sasha had dropped them after ripping them from Cole.

The Tar Conduit scowled deeply. "You have no idea", she snarled, "What he requires. He doesn't need you. He needs me. I can let him heal. Take the pain away."

"Right", Zeke scoffed irritated. He was still scared of her, but more even, he was terrified of what she would do to his best friend. And his safety was more important than staying away from the crazy bitch. "The first time you two met you tried to drown him in that crap tar of yours."

"We are destined to be together", Sasha hissed. "Forever."

Suddenly, the heart monitor, that had been steadily beeping in the background, flat lined. Cold horror replaced every drop of Zeke's blood with ice, and Rachel blinked for a second.

"Oh shit!" The nurse shouted, scrambling to the defibrillator that sat in a corner of the room. Sasha hissed hatefully, but wouldn't move, even as Rachel headed towards her with the paddles in her hands.

Then the lights above started to flicker. Metal parts all around them started to hover in the air, caught in a powerful magnetic field. All of them had only seconds to react, before a massive electrical discharge fried every last piece of equipment inside the room. Sasha had moved fast, rolling off the bed and away from Cole, before she ducked into a corner. Zeke dove at Rachel and threw her to the ground to protect her. Thunder rolled outside and a massive lightning bolt smashed into the roof above them, throwing the entire hospital into darkness.

In the few seconds the emergency generators needed to kick in, an ominous crackling filled the room.

Then, when the lights finally came back on, all of them stared into a pair of bloodshot, but angry blue eyes.

Cole's face was set into a deep scowl as lightning arched around him.

"Shut the Hell up."

* * *

He hadn't been awake for long. Just enough to throw every last of them out before he collapsed back into bed. He had really tried to keep his cool, but his head had hurt like mad and the fact that Sasha was in his personal bubble _again_ wasn't making things any easier. Cole had snapped and had shot a few lightning bolts at the female Conduit and into the general direction of Zeke to get them to back off and leave him alone. But that did come back to haunt him almost immediately. His vision was spinning, even after he closed his eyes, and the room just didn't want to stay put. His insides felt as if they were doing several backflips through his body and he had given the idea of just throwing up some serious thoughts.

After that episode and hoping to High Hell that Sasha wouldn't return, Cole had tried to sleep again.  
But his head wouldn't allow him to. All he could hear was screaming. The screaming Kessler had heard, and what he gave him in his last act. He wondered whether this was what drove his future self mad.

He tried to push those thoughts back, to banish them into the confines of his mind and deal with them later on. He was so very tired and didn't want to think anymore.

Maybe there was a God and He took pity on him, because his head slowly fell silent and exhaustion took over. It was just darkness, with every voice simply disappearing. There were no memories, no images- just nothing. After all those sleepless nights, this was more than welcome and Cole let himself pulled inside.

" _ **Big Game tonight."**_

"Shit!" Cole jerked upright, eyes flitting around the room frantically while he send out his Radar Pulses to check whether there was a threat. He almost immediately cringed from the searing pain in his guts and dropped back against the pillows. His heart was still going at 180 miles per hour, but he was calming down. However, he could still see the mandibled, inhuman face before him when he closed his eyes.

The vertigo had worn off- thankfully- allowing the Conduit to finally get his thoughts back in order. The Ripper had been around for weeks, murdering people (well, mostly Reapers and Dustmen who he really couldn't give two shits about) and taking their heads as _trophies_. That was sick. Cole couldn't stand Reapers or Dustmen or First Sons, but even _they_ didn't deserve being taken apart and mounted on some wall.

He huffed out and draped his arm over his face, trying to think. He had to stop this guy. Somehow.

But he handed him his ass to him the last time. He guessed it must have been pretty close, at least judging from all those machines he was hooked up to. Cole lifted his hand and eyed the large alligator clip clamped to his fingers. Zeke's work, no doubt, but it was exactly what he needed.

Zeke.

Cole's eyes narrowed on the pile of his stuff on a table nearby. He was going to need some more information.

He sat up straight again and bit back the urge to wince at the pain flaring up from his midsection before he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

The vertigo returned to him with vengeance, forcing him to claw his fingers into the bed rack to prevent falling off. He squeezed his eyes shut and panted through grit teeth, forcing his head to stop spinning. It took the better of several minutes until the room finally came to rest, until he could carefully slip off the bed.

Cole's knees buckled benath him, and he stumbled to the front with a poorly contained curse. He managed to catch himself by dropping against the wall, hissing in pain from his stomach. It was enough to topple any other man, but Cole was more than that. And he was way more stubborn. So he took a few deep breaths before he pushed off the wall and staggered over to where his stuff was. He managed to reach the table with a more-or-less calculated collapse, then groped blindly through the remains of his stuff. All of it was in a poor condition from the blasts he took to the chest and back, the blades that cut into him and the doctors trying to get his clothes off him when they operated. Only his shoes seemed to be in good condition.

Cole grunted and slid to the floor, groaning from the dull throbbing pain.

But he had managed to grab his phone. He gasped a few times before he lifted it to eye-level and glanced at it. It was in a good shape, but unresponsive. The Conduit snorted and focused, sending a charge into the device to power it up. His head spun again and the nausea was back, though he managed to swallow it and concentrate on his phone.

He switched it on and pressed the first number.

The phone rang.

Cole couldn't even blink that fast it needed for the other end to be answered.

" _Cole?!"_

The Conduit chuckled at the desperate tone of his best friend. "Hi Z", he said.

" _Oh shit! Are you okay?!"_

"I am", he replied, then bit back a groan. "But my insides feel like they're on fire, so I am probably going to faint soon again."

Zeke sighed. _"No wonder, brother. I talked to Rachel- you know, your hot nurse."_

"And?"

" _She said they had to cut stuff out of you to save your life."_

Cole stared at the empty room. "...Really?" He grunted. "They cut out my organs?"

" _Yeah"_ , Zeke sighed, _"You're missing your kidney and liver and spleen and God-knows-what-else."_

Cole snorted. Maybe he should have been more upset, but he didn't manage to get the strength together. "No wonder I feel like shit. And drugs probably don't work on me."

" _Is that why you've been so mean to us today?"_

"Probably. I felt cranky and my head hurt and my stomach felt like it was trying to burn out of me and explode- and you guys were just around and were so _loud_. And Sasha was in my personal bubble. I was just pissed off at everything."

Zeke huffed out. _"Yeah. I know."_

"Where's Sasha, anyways?"

" _Vanished. Didn't see her, but she looked pretty ticked off. Not at you, but somehow..."_ , he trailed off.

"Good enough" Cole leaned back and exhaled once. "Listen- can you do me a favor?"

" _Anything, brother."_

"Can you get me everything about the Ripper you get your fingers on? I have to know more about him."

" _Shit. Do you seriously want to try to take him- after what he's done to you?"_

"Someone has. Who else is there?"

" _The military?"_

"They're too many. They'll never find him." He grunted. "Besides. This is personal."

Zeke scoffed. _"Everything's personal to you! Damnit! Do you know where they found you? On a train! Bleeding out!"_

Cole frowned. "I remember the train", he admitted, "But not what came after that."

" _Of course"_ , Zeke sounded exasperated, _"A bunch of train passengers have just literally watched how EMTs_ _ **stuffed your guts**_ _back inside you!"_

"Oh" Cole blinked. "Was it that bad?"

" _Even worse! Brother, Rachel said you_ _ **died**_ _during surgery!"_

Cole blinked again. "I got better", he stated flatly, still not believing what he heard there.

Zeke was at loss for words, and Cole eyed the alligator clip on his fingers. "Uh- thanks for hooking me up to the juice", the Conduit added awkwardly.

" _You really want to go after that guy again."_ It wasn't a question, but rather a statement. Cole realized that Zeke had given up trying to keep him back.

"I have to", he replied with a serious tone. "I can't let him murder even more in the city. Not after all that happened. People like him would believe that they could continue with just whatever the Hell they want- so somebody has to knock them down a notch or two."

Zeke sighed. _"I can't stop you- and even if we tied you down you would just find a way to escape- just take it easy before that, will you?"_ He paused for a moment and continued: _"And I mean it. I won't come around to Bayview for the next two days, so you better stay there and get some rest, okay?"_

"Don't worry", Cole grinned with a painful wince, "I'm not going anywhere. Currently I can't even sit on the floor without the room making a backflip."

" _Ah. Okay"_ , Zeke sounded relieved. _"You're going to stay put until I turn up?"_

"Yup."

" _See you then"_

"Wait", Cole nearly shouted. He hissed when the room made a full ninety-degree tilt, forcing him to claw to the desk before he was flung off.

" _Brother?"_

"Don't come alone", the Conduit said, focusing on his knees that thankfully weren't moving around.

" _No?"_

"Bring Harms", he explained. "And try to get that Marine Jerk on it too."

A pause, then, _"That guy? Why?"_

"The Ripper killed his people too and they thought it was me. I didn't make the connection back then- but it's the same guy. He has to know."

Cole leaned back and stared at the ceiling, that was slowly stopping to jerk around the room. "Also, I did learn a few things when he kicked my ass. You guys should know about it too." _To beat that guy in case I don't come back the next time_ , he added in his head.

" _Oh. Okay."_ Zeke didn't sound very assured. _"In two days, Cole?"_

"Yeah. I'll try to get back into bed and sleep for that time. If you arrive and I'm still out, you have to wake me."

" _Wouldn't it be better-"_

"This is _important_ ", Cole hissed. "People are dieing, Zeke. We can't allow this to continue."

His best friend was silent for a while, before he finally agreed. _"Okay. I hope you know that Rachel's going to have me flayed for this."_

Cole grinned. "Don't worry. I'll tell her if she comes by. I take all the blame so you can still score."

Zeke snorted. _"Yeah. As if. You have the uncanny ability to cock-block me. Mostly when you don't even try to."_

"Well, sorry for being better looking than you", Cole jabbed back with a smirk. The room had gone still.

" _Anything else, brother?"_

"Yeah", Cole said after a short moment. He grabbed the thin textile of the hospital gown he was currently wearing and twisted it between his thumb and forefinger. "Get me my clothes. The thing I have leaves my butt free." He paused again. "And I get drafts where no man should have drafts."

Zeke chuckled. _"Duly noted."_

"Good", Cole sighed out. "See you then, Z"

" _I still say it's a stupid idea, but you're more stubborn than a mule. So okay. I help you. Just make sure you'll survive next time you meet that sucker- or I will drag you out of Hell and beat your ass."_

The Conduit chuckled. "I count on it."

" _Bye"_

The phone was clicked off. Cole exhaled and leaned back, glancing at the room. He eyed the bed that looked like it was three hundred meters away from him.

"Now there is just one question", he muttered darkly, "How the Hell am I supposed to get back there?"


	7. News

**Author: This chapter had orginially planned to become only one, but then I didn't manage to finish writing, so now it's the first of two. Don't worry, the action's gonna start after that.**

 **Also, there are some [PROTOTYPE] references in here, because I have reason to suspect that both exist in the same universe. Why? Well, Moya mentioned that the upper echelons wanted to nuke Empire if this so-called 'Plague' and the violence didn't let up soon. That would be a tad too extreme, even for America.**

 **Except for when the Outbreak in Manhattan happened before that.**

* * *

News

Zeke was the first to arrive at Bayview. Originally, he wanted to meet Cole together with the others, but then figured that maybe he should be allowed to keep his dignity by not doing the whole super-serious business in that stupid hospital gown. So he arrived about an hour before the appointed time with a bag full of stuff for his friend to wear.

Much to his surprise, Cole was already awake and about. In fact, he was highly active, roaming his room, wringing his fingers and mumbling to himself. Once Zeke walked through the door, he ceased all movement and fixed his best friend with a hard glare.

"Tell me you brought something to eat", he said for a greeting.

Zeke blinked. Hard. "Uh"

"Food, Z", Cole explained slowly. "Munchies. Yum-yum. Something to stuff into your mouth and feel good afterwards."

Zeke blinked again. "I...uh", he groped around his back pocket, finding a half-squished object in a colorful wrapper. "I...think I have something." Cole eyed him and Zeke frowned at the thing he found. "I think it was a cereal bar. Once." He cut himself off when he saw the hungry stare of his best friend and slowly backed off. "Whoa there, Cole! I have sat on that thing because I am sure it has been in my back pocket ever since I _bought_ these pants. I don't know what year it is from and you probably won't like to eat it anyways-"

"Don't care. Hand it over", Cole growled.

Zeke blinked and stared at the bar, before flipping it over to his friend, who caught it and immediately tore the wrapper off. Cole made a low content moan when he inhaled half of the the melted ancient snack and Zeke wasn't sure whether he should laugh or feel worried about his friend's state of mind.

"Didn't they feed you?" He asked.

"Not really", Cole replied around a mouthful of cereal bar. He jerked his head towards the IV bags at their rack. "I had those up my arm. Didn't like them so I took them out." He shrugged. "I tried everything- but there are no snack dispensers around and I didn't want to walk around with this stupid gown thing that _leaves my butt_ free. And when I asked for food, your nurse girlfriend told me I wasn't allowed to eat anything."

"Because your intestines had been damaged and needed to be partially removed", a sharp voice declared from the entrance. Cole flinched and dove into a corner, ducked low and cradled the cereal bar protective against his chest. Rachel stood in the door, glaring darkly at Cole. "Mister MacGrath", she spoke with a sharp tone, "Any attempt at ingesting food risks the stitches on your internal organs and can lead to a serious blood poisoning."

"I told you", Cole bit back, "I am fine- just give me the okay and I'll be out of here."

"And I told you", Rachel snapped, "That we had to remove a lot of your internal organs to stop the bleeding. Don't you dare try to play smart with me!"

"I'm fine!" Cole argued.

"Sure. And I'm certain you have a medical degree to back that assumption, do you?"

Zeke blinked and glanced from one to the other. He felt as if he was in the entirely wrong movie.

The Conduit and the nurse kept staring at each other, unwilling to back down, until Rachel scoffed. "Fine", she grumbled. "We'll see who's right. I'll arrange a spin for you in the CT." Cole blinked in confusion and the nurse lifted her finger warningly. "I will tell you this only once, MacGrath. You fry any of the equipment in here and I will mess you up worse than this nutcase did."

"Duly noted."

* * *

He was back. Back at the House of Healers.

To be honest, the easy prey was starting to bore him. He wanted the strong prey. The one they called 'Demon'.

But the question was, was he strong enough to be hunted again?

The 'Ripper' glanced down, eying the room he knew the 'Demon' was in. The vision of his mask changed, dying everything in warm colors and allowing him to zoom closer. But behind the paper-thin walls he didn't see anything. Even the energy unit was off.

He clicked his mandibles in confusion? Did he die?

That would be a shame.

After a moment of scanning every room on his side (maybe he was just mistaken, or the healers have moved his prey), he tapped the side of his mask, switching back into the normal spectrum. But he did increase the audio input.

In an instant, he could hear hundreds, maybe even thousands of voices all through the building.

Ooman cubs screaming, adults speaking, machines humming, water rushing beneath. He narrowed his eyes, tapping his wrist computer a few times to replay the record he made of his prey and cross-reference it with the voices he heard down there to filter out the useless rabble and focus entirely on his prey and his surroundings.

" _Ho-holy shit"_

The hunter paused, head inclined to the side. The 'Demon' was still alive then? But he wasn't in that room he had been confined to before, instead he was deeper in the building's bowels.

" _Jesus on a pogo stick!"_ A second voice chimed in. The hunter frowned. He heard that voice before, the moment before he revealed himself to his prey. The fat man, most likely.

" _This is impossible"_ , a female voice claimed.

" _And yet it happened"_ , his prey commented. His voice was slightly drowned out by the powerful humming of some large machinery. _"Uh- Could you maybe get me back out of here? I'm not overly fond of being stuck inside a large tube."_

" _Wait a moment, Cole"_

" _What? Now you're on a first-name basis with him?!"_ The fat man wailed. The hunter snorted. Oomans were so strange sometimes.

" _I'm just marveling at the medical wonder he represents"_ , the female said, _"Because humans don't usually grow back entire organs."_

" _...uh... I am not really human. Not anymore."_

" _Yeah! Cole's a superhuman now! You now, like Wolverine?"_

" _ **Superhuman"**_ , the Hunter rasped. It fit this type of prey. Oomans were tricky, clever. And those that had those 'powers' were even stronger. They could take more damage and cause more damage in return, making them ideal prey. He enjoyed hunting them, even though the lesser ones were starting to bore him. The greater ones were why he was still around.

The woman- he wasn't sure about her. Females usually weren't on his list of prey, and she didn't seem to be in full control of her mind nor did her body appear very strong. He didn't know whether it would be like hunting a rabid animal or fighting a sly viper, so he didn't lift a claw against her until he would know more.

He regretted not having hunted that old man, though. He had believed him to be weak. After all, he was old. He was limping, and he was half blind. But then he had seen him fight his prey and had to realize how powerful he'd been. It's a shame he fled and hid, before those soldiers got to him. They murdered the old man without any honor.

His mandibles clicked in annoyance. The other old man- the one even older than the first- he had been a perfect candidate for hunt. But he had managed to elude his hunter. Had managed to avoid his eyes. He made the hunt sweet and exciting and the he had looked towards claiming his trophy.

But then the older man had surprised him by choosing to fight the 'Demon'- a man the hunter hadn't paid much attention to because he had been a puppet in the older man's and the other woman's play- and then he witnessed the older man end up being _defeated_ by the young man. The young man who wasn't anywhere as strong, anywhere as intelligent or cunning as the older man.

And still he beat him through a mixture of determination, strength and stubborn relentless. This was maybe not the sly power the older man had shown, but it was a powerful display of strength nonetheless.

He began respecting him for that, and watched him.

When the black creature appeared, he had been worried. Worried it might kill his prey, but then the man finally managed to destroy the creature. Not only destroy- he had broken it with so much power that there was barely anything left.

The Hunter clicked the audio input off and tapped his wrist computer. His prey was fully healed again and he would know he was going to hunt him again. The last time he had taken him by surprise, but now that wouldn't be possible. This time, they would fight on equal terms.

He clicked his mandibles together in excitement. The hunt was coming to a close now.

But could he attack his prey in a House of Healing? His teachers had once told him that there were a lot of injured individuals in such a place, and any sort of disturbance might kill them by accident. Not a very honorable death and not a very honorable hunt.

He clicked again and pulled back from the edge of the roof. He could wait some more.

The hunter was about to head back into the jungle of the city, when the sound of engines stopped him. He knew that sound and turned around, curiously.

He noticed one of those vehicles the soldiers have arrive in front of the house of healers. The Ripper watched how a group of men got out, but only two of them headed inside the building, while the rest stopped and stood outside. He clicked his fangs angrily. He knew those men had murdered the old man without honor, and he knew they were after his prey too.

He was about to jump down and take them out, when another vehicle arrived. It was another old man, with dark skin. He glanced at the soldiers once, but didn't seem overly worried. It confused the hunter, more even as the dark man simply walked into the building.

Neither of them seemed to be injured like the other oomans in this place were, nor were they the healers or helpers of the healers.

So _what_ was going on?

The answer took him admittedly a bit longer than it should have. Either the fat man or his prey had called for them. Had summoned them here.

What for?

The answer was obvious and frankly, simple.

They allied to plan fighting _him_. The hunter blinked behind his mask before a deep, guttural laughter echoed from his throat.

That could be interesting.

* * *

"That was...well, not entirely _unexpected_ , but..." Cole trailed off, gesturing with his hands as he sat back on his bed and wrenched his shoes over his feet.

"Discovering you're literally half the _X-Men_ in one was a bit surprising?" Zeke finished with a wide grin.

Cole huffed in reply. "Yeah", he finally muttered. "I mean, I remember _this"_ , he pointed at his chest where shiny scar tissue formed a circular spot over otherwise flawless muscles and flesh. "This had been a _bloody crater_ , the last time I looked", he continued. "But now? All healed. _Five days_ later."

"Which leads me to the question I was burning to ask", Zeke continued.

"Mhm?" Cole hummed, pulling his shirt over his head to be finally rid of the stupid paper-thin hospital dress thingy.

"You know- Rachel said your entire internal system had grown back. Aside from the fact that only those weird-ass lizard things with the red bushels on their heads are able to do that, why did you pass out in the first place?"

"They're newts. Amphibians, not lizards", Cole mumbled with a deadpan expression. He frowned at his hand, turning it over as if it held all answers in the universe. Re-growing internal organs was unheard of in humans- and with the sole exception of the liver none of the tissues had such regenerative abilities. Had the blast really done so much to him?

But he had thought about this, hasn't he? When he woke up here first and the room didn't spin anymore. He did have a theory, and he was eager to share. So he turned to Zeke. "You've asked a good question", he admitted, "And I did think about it too."

He frowned again, before he reached out to the lamp and drained some electricity from it. "I think- I think I'm pretty resistant against bullets because I'm more of an electro magnet that slows the projectiles down before they hit, so they don't cause that much damage. My bones are stronger and my skin tougher- so I can withstand much more punishment than most people..." He trailed off, eyes going vacant for a moment. "But I guess my organs aren't made of the same stuff. Either that- or I have troubles healing them back up like I do muscles, flesh and bone. Maybe they're more complex to regenerate." He shook his head. "At any rate, when that guy gutted me with his shit-shanks, it hurt much more than being shot at would- and my body prioritized healing those injuries first, but because I had to keep zapping the guy, I couldn't heal."

"And you passed out", Zeke noticed.

"Yeah", Cole sighed. "Because I failed getting to a new source of juice. When the EMTs found me, they of course didn't know what to do with me and did whatever they do with normal people."

"Removing your internal organs to stem the bleeding", Zeke noticed. "But in your case, it was exactly the wrong thing to do, right?"

"Most likely. It appears I just needed a lot of energy to fix myself back up." Cole shook his head with a grimace again. "It isn't the medic's fault. They did what they thought was right, just that by removing my guts they actually knocked me out in the first place. And I stayed that way until my body finished regrowing what they removed."

"...I did mention that this is some serious _Wolverine_ bullshit, right?"

"Only three times until now", Cole joked. He shrugged when a thought came to him. "Is there anything else you might wanna tell me?" He pointed at the dark line just below his right eye. "Like, who of you has gotten marker all over my face?"

He noticed how Zeke cringed back, and his eyes narrowed. If it was _just_ marker, then he would make a joke and be done with it. But this flinching back was weird. "Okay. I can take it, Z", Cole started, "What is the meaning of this?"

Zeke fidgeted with his fingers for several long moments, before he relented and reached into the pocket of his jacket. When he pulled out a small animal skull, Cole was more confused than anything.

He made all this hubbub because of this?

Cole tilted his head, frowning at his best friend. "What's this?" He asked.

Zeke stared at him incredulous. "You don't know?"

"No. Should I?"

Zeke seemed to relax marginally, though his brows were drawn together. "This thing appeared on your pillow the first night you were here." He squirmed. "I think- it's maybe a-" He trailed off, seemingly unwilling to continue. But he didn't need to. In that moment, Cole's brain lurched into clarity again. The skull looked oddly familiar. In Zeke's hand it meant nothing, but if one imagines a mandibled face hanging over it...

The Ripper had been there. Had been close enough to finish him, yet he didn't. Instead, he left the skull.

As a-

"Warning", Cole finished with a scowl.

Zeke blinked in surprise. "You know?" He asked in a hushed tone, quickly throwing a glance over his shoulder to search for a threat that wasn't there.

"Recognized the thing just now", the Conduit explained. His scowl deepened and his lips curled away from his teeth. "What do you expect Zeke? That I cower in the corner? I know that this guy is hunting for me- and I know he's gonna try again. There's no use being _scared_ by some ominous warning." He huffed out and glared at his best friend. "What pisses me off is the fact that he could have hurt you or any other when I couldn't stop him."

"Cry me a river, electro freak"

Both young men whipped around at the new and highly irritated voice. The Marine jerk and his lieutenant stood in the doorway. Both had deep scowls on their faces. The lieutenant quickly left, however, to stalk the hospital, while the captain's eyes narrowed as soon as he noticed Cole, seconds before he marched towards the Conduit. Cole coiled his body, waiting for the inevitable fallout.

Zeke gave an alarmed shout when the Marine suddenly drew his gun and leveled it at Cole's forehead. Cole, however, only glared back, his eyes narrowed and glistening like steel.

"Forty men", the captain bit through his clenched teeth. "In the last four days, forty of my men had been killed!"

Cole's eyes blew wide in shock. "Wait", he rasped out, "Forty men? That bastard killed _forty men in four days_?!"

The captain snorted at his obvious shock. "Don't play dumb with me", he growled, "We both know that you have murdered enough of us as well. You fucking sank the entire _Washington_!"

Cole blinked before his teeth were bared in a snarl. Faster than anyone could react, he had grabbed the captain and slammed him into the wall, hard enough to leave cracks. The gun had gone lost in the brief struggle, though the man still tried to free himself. The Conduit, however, was way stronger. Effortlessly he kept the soldier pinned against the wall. At the same time, lightning was flashing all over his body and through the room, cracking ominously with its master's rising temper.

"Listen here, you piece of self-absorbed shit", Cole bit out very slowly, making sure to slip enough threat into his voice. "I can only deal with your type of bullcrap for so long. You have no idea what I went through- what _Empire_ went through."

His eyes narrowed dangerously. " _Thousands_ died when that bomb went up. After that, the entire city started hating _me_ because _I_ survived when their loved ones didn't. Tell you what- I would _gladly_ trade with them. My life for theirs- but I can not turn back time."

His hold on the man turned tenser, while Harms and Zeke slowly backed off. "At first I just wanted to get _out_ \- but _your_ people on the Stampton Bridge _gunned down_ a whole bunch of civilians! People like me, who just wanted to escape the city! People who wanted to get out because _you_ idiots locked us in with a bunch of crazy serial killers and drugged junkies!" His teeth were bared now and his eyes flashed.

"You know- _I_ was the one to fix it. _I_ was the one to bleed for the people of Empire- the _only_ one who took care of them in a way _your government_ refused to do! Do you know what they have planned? They wanted to _nuke_ Empire City. Ten Million people- killed with one single press of a god-damned button!" Cole's voice had lowered to a snarl, that still managed to echo through the room and shake the other's bones. "This here _is not_ Manhattan. The 'plague' that made the people sick- it was poison in the water, not some exotic virus some idiot cooked up in a lab! But no! Your people had their heads too far up their own asses. Instead of looking for a _reason_ , they just wanted to bury us all!"

His teeth ground against each other as his voice lowered even more. "It is the fault of _your_ people that all of this happened. It is your fault that hundred thousands died- the weapons on the streets _had_ to come from _somewhere_ , right?! It is _your_ fault this entire shit went down. It is _your_ fault that-" _Trish is dead_ , Cole wanted to say, but he cut himself off. They wouldn't have to know this. His hold on the other man let up slightly when his brain whirled back to the moment he lost her. Back when he just managed to revive her, only long enough for her to tell him how much she loved him.

Cole swallowed, hard, when his memories returned, without fail, to the moment he buried her in that park. His mind had been consumed by grief and revenge back then, but after he had destroyed Kessler, all that was left was a painful emptiness. Especially after he went to the hospital and got her things, finally realizing that she was gone and would never come back. (and then he remembered the small plastic stick sitting innocently on her sink, with the small plus symbol on that little window, and his heart clenched painfully)

Thinking of Trish and what could have been made his rage subside fast, and all Cole felt was weariness. His hold on the man began to loosen.

The captain was glaring at him, waiting for him to continue (not that he could do much against him, Cole was a lot stronger). Cole scrunched up his nose and slowly let go of the man. "Don't blame me for all the shit that went down", he growled, though his previous anger was subdued now. "I fought your men because they attacked me and the people of the city- but I would _never_ blatantly murder anybody." He pulled back, allowing the man to go free. "The ship's been your own fault though- if you hadn't kidnapped me in the first place, David wouldn't have attacked there and I wouldn't have needed to blow it up to get him off my ass."

The Conduit snorted, crossing his arms. "But yelling at you wasn't why I had Zeke call you here- as good it had been to get that off my chest- I want your attention because this is about the guy who blew up your men."

The captain scoffed. "And of course- you know who the sorry son of a bitch is, right?"

Cole shrugged. "It's the guy that messed me up- and it's the bastard who murdered a very good man and scores of others by _tearing out their spines_."

Harms now finally decided to cut in. "Are you certain it is the same guy?"

"Pretty sure", Cole explained, "You know, he did have a pair of blades attached to his wrist- and he kind of gutted _me_ like he didn't just cut through my bones. I think that's the weapon you've been looking for."

"What do you know about that dude anyways?" Zeke asked, "I mean, you're the only one who's seen him."

Cole frowned. What did he know, really?

A few things, actually. The most important ones, too. Cole had dropped out of college, but not because he wasn't clever enough- no, he left because he didn't like how his teachers treated Zeke. He was my no means stupid- stubborn to a fault and not a fan of having to think about others' plans- but not stupid. He could recognize a pattern easily enough and he was more than capable to figure out problems on his own.

And despite having been taken by surprise, he had learnt quite a lot about the killer.

"He does not like acting in the open", he began, "And I mean it. Sasha and Heyes both confirmed that he prefers to stalk his victims and attack from the back." He glanced at the Marine captain. "He probably took out your guys in that way too- shooting them before they even realized what was going on."

The captain scoffed, but nodded, much to the Conduit's surprise. "You're guessing right- none of my boys had even seen a glimpse of that fucker before it was too late."

"That's the other problem", Cole said slowly. "That guy can be _invisible_ at will. I guess it's something of a technology he has on him, because when I hit him with my shock grenades, he fizzled into visibility."

"Technology can do that?" Zeke asked surprised. "Really?"

"Kessler and some of his First Sons could turn invisible too", Cole reminded him. "And...the guy's not so much human himself." He squirmed with a grimace. "He's a Conduit too."

"Fucking knew it", the captain bit out. "Another one of you freaks!" His expression darkened. "And a cowardly one, too", he growled, "What the fuck is wrong with you freaks?"

Cole glared at him. "Don't forget it is idiots like you who make us Conduits resent you so much." The captain glowered, but didn't say anything, allowing Cole to continue.

"Besides", he said, "That guy's a hunter. He stalks his victims, then takes them down like any other hunter would do."

"I don't give a flying fuck about this psychological crap", the captain snapped, "The only thing that interests me is the question whether and how he can be killed."

"He bleeds", Cole gave back coldly, "But as long as a whole army is looking for him, he won't show himself. In worst case, he's just gonna take out every single man until the morale's so bad that nobody will remain."

"You can't be serious", Harms realized, "Are you saying that you plan to...take the Ripper one-on-one?!"

"I am serious", Cole replied, "I learnt from our previous encounter. I can do this. I will do this."

"That's insane, man!" Zeke more or less yelled, "You got your ass handed to you last time!"

"It was the same with David", Cole answered, "And I still beat him." His expression darkened. "I have walked away for too long, Zeke. No more. I will face this guy and I will take him down. Not only for me, but for all the others he murdered until now. I will beat him."

The question was only, how? Cole frowned over this question. Close combat was probably out of question. That guy had advantage in body height, strength and weapons- of course he could heal, but he'd rather _not_ risk being shanked again. Trying to stay at distance wasn't preferably either, the guy's cannon could critically injure him or throw him off balance, even with the shield. Plus he had this whole energy drainage stuff going for him. Beating him was going to require finesse and skill.

That wasn't unfamiliar with him, though. Cole had beaten Sasha, despite her always hiding in her tar and driving him mad; he had beaten Alden, despite him having a giant construct of trash metal; he had beaten David, who was a lot stronger than him; and he had beaten Kessler, who had a whole lot of tricks up his sleeves.

He could do it.

But he would need some help. And despite his feelings for them, the Marines had everything he required.

"Captain", he started, drawing the man's attention, "Listen- I am going to take this guy out." Before the man could reply, he lifted his finger. "However, I will require your assisstance. I am _not_ unbeatable, so if anything happens to me, it is _your_ job to kill that bastard."

"And how, if he hides from an army?"

"He's more likely to take you on if you fight alone- and clever. If you trick him into a trap, then you can easily get the upper hand." The Conduit frowned again. "However, do not, under any circumstances, allow him to get a good look on you." He gestured to his chest, where the scar tissue was visible just over the hem of his collar. "He has a sort of energy cannon attached to his shoulder. It targets via a system on his mask, so it shoots wherever he looks. Get into his blind spot, and stay there to avoid that. Those projectiles are devastating- I guess they were what blew your guys up. Hell, they can evaporate my shields and cause massive damage, but he can't shoot more than five times, before that thing overheats."

He paused, glancing upwards. "He also has some sort of disc", he added after a moment. "Razor-sharp and seemingly able to be steered. That thing can be called back, and cuts easily through concrete and bone, however, if it gets stuck somewhere, it has to be retrieved manually."

"What else?" There was a strange tone in the Marine's voice. Something that was almost...careful curiosity. The expression on his face was strange too, as if he was beginning to have an idea, but wasn't willing to share it before he wasn't certain.

"Bombs", Cole added. "Small things, not much larger than my palm. They can stick to surfaces and can be triggered manually, but cause a massive explosion. Better not stay close to them. Then he also has some sort of rifle. It shoots something like blade or darts. Hurt like a bitch too." He grimaced. "Close-up and personal's going to be hard too. That guy's like seven to nine feet in size and only muscles. Has those two claws on his wrist and a spear too." He paused again, frowning. "Oh. And whatever happened when the Blast got him- he looks barely human. I mean-" He trailed off, waving his hand. "David was bad enough. All black and with four arms, and Sasha got several tongues and has claws."

"The Ripper too?" Harms wondered.

"Yeah", Cole nodded. "Scales on his skin, in shades of brown and green. Claws on both hands and feet. Oh. And he has this weird-ass crab face."

The Marine Captain sudenly inhaled sharply, though he realized it and tried to cover it up with a clearing of his throat, but Cole had noticed it regardless. "Anything you wish to share?" He asked suspiciously.

Harms's and Zeke's attention turned towards him, curious. The captain narrowed his eyes and glared at them, mouth clenched shut. Cole inclined his head by a shade. "There is something you don't want to tell us. Come on. Spit it out. It might be useful."

The Marine captain scowled deeper, clearly turning that thought over in his head. Then, however, he got up and walked to the door, clicking his radio on. "Millers", he bit out. "Come back and secure the door. I want not a single soul in or out of this room."

" _Sir"_

He clicked the radio off and closed the door, then locked it. He turned back to the other occupants and crossed his arms behind his back.

"What I am about to tell you is confidental", he bit out, obviously highly displeased with the entire situation. "So- whatever I am going to tell you is _never_ leaving this room, understood?"

"Uh?" Zeke began, but the captain scowled only deeper. "AM I UNDERSTOOD?!" He barked.

"You are", Cole commented dryly, unbothered by the hard tone he used. "Now go on."

The Marine sighed, shoulders visibly slumping. "If my superiors hear about this, I'll be buried in Guantanamo", he muttered. Then his posture turned rigid again and his glare hardened.

"I wasn't on the investigation back then, so I didn't make the connection until now. But I'm certain that this rash of kills has not been the first", he commented. "No, it has been going on for _decades_."

Cole's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing on the man. Decades? But the Ray Sphere had been unique, as far as he knew. This killer couldn't have been around for decades- at least not the way he was now.

"We heard of it the first time in '95, when we lost a group of Marines on a rescue mission in the Val Verde jungle. The second time it happened, it happened in '97 in Los Angeles. We assume that there have been more cases similar to them all over the world, but we are missing evidence."

"Then the killer must be around forty? Fifty?" Harms wondered.

The captain only shook his head. "No. In both cases, a single man managed to take out the killer, at the cost of several dozen of Marine lives. The killers are _dead_."

"So there are more of them?" Cole asked, "What? Is this like _The Sith?_ "

"Worse", the captain growled. He closed his eyes, steeling his resolve. "As I said- this is confidental. And if I ever hear of this in any sort of media- I will have you taken into custody and shot without any trial- _got it_?!"

"Yeah. Go on", Cole snorted.

The Marine sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We aren't entirely sure what this is all about- but we can tell you so much- your killer is _not_ one of your freaks." He shook his head. "No. What we're talking about aren't locals."

"Locals? As in Americans?" Zeke wondered.

"No. Not locals as in not _Earth_." The captain scowled deeper. "Well, congratulations, MacGrath. It looks like you got your hands on some motherfucking _alien_."


	8. Before the Storm

**Author: Here I took some liberties regarding the tracking abilities of the Predator.**

 **Sano Hibiki: Regarding your question; no, this is not a Prototype Crossover (though I _am_ going to write one sooner or later). And no, Harms knows nothing about the Predator, he was just the one who got Cole and Zeke on the murder case. It was the Marine Captain, who had some information.**

* * *

Before the storm

The silence that followed, was deafening. Harms looked like he had a stroke, Cole stared and Zeke blinked, while the Marine captain scowled deeply.

If a pin had fallen to the floor, the sound of it would have sounded like an explosion.

Zeke's outburst could probably have burst their eardrums. Harms winced and Cole cringed back with a swear.

"A-HAH! I knew it! I knew you guys were hiding Aliens!", Zeke yelled, "I always knew it!"

The captain scowled even deeper and drew his brows together. His hand twitched, as if it was longing to grab his gun. "Another peep, fat man, and I _will_ shoot you."

Zeke lifted his hands. "Jus' saying. But what are we going to find out next? That the _Men in Black_ exist?"

The captain snatched his collar, dragging him closer to his face. Cole didn't intervene, but he readied himself in case he had to help Zeke.

He didn't need to, though the Marine was very close to bite his head off.

"Listen here, you piece of shit", he growled, "This is no time for fucking jokes. This is fucking serious here! We have a full-blown aggression through motherfucking _aliens_ going on!"

"Let him go", Cole interjected with a calm, but firm voice, "And tell us what you know. Every bit helps."

The captain glared heated, before he slowly let go of Zeke. Cole motioned for him to get behind him, then settled his glance at the other. The captain withstood the silent argument for a minute before he visibly deflated.

"As I said" He started begrudingly, "We only learnt of them in '95, after we extracted the last remaining survivor of a rescue mission from Val Verde. He claimed that the guy killed an entire camp of Guerrilla warriors, Green Berets and his entire team that consisted of six heavily armed soldiers. We learnt more of these invaders, but couldn't use that knowledge until '97, when another one appeared in L.A. Again, we lost most of our own, but some cop managed to beat that thing. In 2005 there were two incidents: One at the ass end of the world, a.k.a Antarctica, then in some hick town in the middle US. In both cases, casualties were extremely high."

Cole inclined his head, waiting for the man to continue. He did, albeit reluctant. "First of, that guy uses some sort of thermic vision. The survivor of Val Verde mentioned it could not see him when he was coated with water and mud- and it couldn't see our guys in Los Angeles when they tried to ambush it in a cold storage. However, it obviously has more systems, allowing it to switch to another range of vision, so these tricks won't work for very long."

The captain glared at Cole. "I should have been more suspicious when you mentioned that this fucker was _invisible_ , because that's exactly what the survivors claimed- but then again, I have already tangoed with a few of your freaks and they could turn invisible too, so I didn't think much of it." He snorted. "Not to mention I wasn't on any of those teams investigating those assaults, but all of the survivors described that thing as 'butt-ugly mother fucker with a crab face'- so when you mentioned that, it just clicked."

"What else is there?" Harms asked. "It looks like you have the most knowledge then."

"They don't like being beaten", the captain added after a moment's thought, "Nor do they like to leave their stuff lying about."

"And that means?"

"Each of them seems to carry a sort of nuclear detonation devise on their wrist, which they can blow up in case everything goes south."

"Holy", Cole hissed, "How much power are we speaking of here?"

The Marine's expression darkened. "The one in Val Verde flattened an expanse of jungle that is roughly the size of that crater over in your Historic District."

The other three stared in shock for several moments. "If you think about taking that fucker down- take him down hard and _fast_ ", the captain added.

"He already gutted me once because I didn't", Cole replied coldly, "I'm not going to let this happen again."

Harms exhaled with a tired expression. "Is there anything else you like to add?"

"Uh", Zeke suddenly piped up. The others glanced into his direction. "I- uh- had Linda- you know, the reporter? Well I had her look into this stuff, check for mentioning of this kind of murders."

The captain's expression darkened. Cole suspected it didn't sit right with him that more people knew, but if it was true what he said- that the Ripper wasn't the only one- then there had to be a lot of victims. And the media could not have been kept silent, so of course there were a lot of people who knew _something_ , even if not _everything_.

Zeke cleared his throat and grabbed a bunch of papers from his bag. "Val Verde wasn't mentioned directly, but there are a lot of stories and rumors from native tribes in jungles. Los Angeles has been mentioned too, along with some other places."

"And?" Harms asked.

Zeke shrugged. "It looks like there's a connection between those guys and the climate. You know, they only appear when the weather's warm."

"So they don't like the cold", Cole noticed.

"Yeah. Probably."

"What else?"

"It looks like they only target men who are physically strong."

"Sasha mentioned as much."

"Yeah. But did she tell you that those guys don't target women or children?" Zeke pushed his shades back up his nose. "I think those guys have some sort of code or something, so they are supposed to play _fair_."

Cole's eyes lit up. "Which means that we can cheat."

"Exact-o, brother", Zeke grinned. "We can cheat."

Cole hummed for a moment, soaking up the new information. The Ripper, who- or whatever- he was, could be tricked. Apparently, several normal humans had already beaten guys like him, so he should be able to do this as well, right?

Screw this. He had to do this. If only for his dignity. Nobody gotten away trying to make Cole MacGrath into a trophy. Not Moya, not David, not Kessler, not Alden, not Sasha.

And suddenly a brilliant idea came to him.

"Harms", he began, "Do you know about the Jefferson Tunnel? Is it accessible?"

"The Jefferson?" Harms leaned back, frowning. "Last I heard was that it was still flooded. But the guys have managed to clear it mostly, though there should be enough rubble for you to pass through without getting into the water."

"Perfect", Cole nodded, mentally fleshing his plan out a little further. This was good. He would need to pass through the Jefferson Tunnel. To reach it, the maintenance hatches from the sewer should work. He didn't really look forward to crawl through the muck and filth again, but this time it was the best course of action.

He glanced towards the window, shifting into the Precision mode to check the rooftops. His eyes narrowed. There was only the heated air glimmering over the heated tar, but there was a spot that looked...different.

The Ripper. A grim notion tugged Cole's lips downwards. "He's there", he said. "Watching."

"Shit!" Zeke gasped. "What now?" The captain was acting faster than him, ripping the radio from its holster and holding it against his ear. "Target in the area!" He barked, "Fan out and secure the entrance!"

Cole froze, then whipped around. "What?! No! Pull them back!"

"You are not my superior", the captain barked, "You aren't even in the army! Who do you think you are?!"

"The only guy with some common sense!" Cole snapped. His skin crawled again and without warning, he whirled around and flung his body through the window. Glass shattered all around him, nicking his skin, but he paid it no attention.

Instead, his focus was high above the street, where he noticed the blurred outline of the Ripper move. Without thinking, Cole threw his hands up and smacked the Marines with a kinetic blast, throwing them off balance and catapulting them through the air.

Saving them from the energy bolt that detonated on the floor where they've been just moments before.

Cole skidded to a halt, lightning flashing all around him, then turned and glared at the Ripper's hidden outlines.

"If you have a bone to pick with me, then come!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "I'm waiting for you, you bastard!"

The only reply were two more energy bolts that shot towards him. Cole dove to the side and rolled over his shoulder, avoiding both. "Get me if you dare, you coward!" He hollered again before he dashed down the street.

He didn't need to look back to see the Ripper head after him.

The Conduit felt the blast more than he saw it and threw his body to the side to dodge it, not willing to take his chances with his Polarity Shield again. Instead, he made a mad rush towards a manhole cover on the street.

Without wasting any more time, he yanked it open and dropped in. The darkness engulfed him immediately, and the smell of sewage made his stomach turn, but he paid it no mind.

Leaping off the ground, he started to head along the many catwalks and massive tanks inside the sewer, releasing lightning all the time to charge every metallic surface he came close to.

Behind him in the distance, he heard something heavy hit the floor.

The Ripper was following him.

Good.

A dark grin settled on Cole's face. No matter how long the guy's been in the city, here in the sewers he was in his own element. Nobody would be able to figure him out as long he stayed down here.

 _Time to cheat._

* * *

He had been patient. Had waited outside the House of Healers.

He knew his prey was healthy again, and he knew he was aware of him. He hoped he could draw him out of his hiding to hunt him again.

But just waiting had become unbearable. Especially when the soldiers were down there. These oomans were strong, but not any more special than those he had defeated until now.

The hunter just wanted his prey to hurry up. He was healthy again, so why didn't he move out?

The House of Healing was a secure place, and the Hunter would only hunt inside if he saw no other choice- so they were safe for now. Maybe they knew?

He clicked his mandibles together in irritation, deciding to eavesdrop on the communication channels of the warrior oomans.

At first, there was only idle chatter. Nothing interesting.

" _Target the area!"_ The Hunter's head snapped up. That was close, and the voice of the ooman's captain. He sounded...angry. _"Fan out and secure the entrance!"_

The men below started moving. They readied their weapons and started to search the surrounding area with their eyes. The Hunter slowly rose to his feet.

They were ready for battle. Ready to fight.

And to be hunted.

He was being challenged. Good. At least he got some excitement, some... _warm up_ before the real hunt began.

Within moments, he had the men targeted and locked in. Just as his claw descended towards the trigger for his cannon, he heard glass shatter.

His prey, the Demon, barreled through a window, hitting the ground running. The Hunter clicked in surprise as he watched him rush around the side of the House of Healing. Was he trying to attack the soldiers before him?

His cannon spat a bolt of plasma, just as the man threw his arms up and smacked the soldiers with this strange kinetic blast.

His own shot missed, and the soldiers were still _alive_.

The Hunter inclined his head in confusion. The man had no reason to help them, for he feared and hated them. And yet, he saved their lives?

He wondered whether it was stupid, reckless...or noble.

His prey stopped and whirled around to face into his direction. His blue eyes locked in on his position, and electricity arched over his body.

"If you have a bone to pick with me", the man shouted enraged, "Then come! I'm waiting for you, you bastard!"

The Ripper froze for a split second. Then his mandibles clicked together in excitement. His prey knew he was there. He was _challenging_ him!

 _Shouldn't disappoint him, then._ He shot two more bolts of plasma at the Demon, not expecting them to hit. He wasn't trying to, really. It was just so he knew that his challenge had been accepted. The man had dodged them both, eyes blazing as he turned to him again.

"Get me if you dare, you coward!" He shouted again- before he suddenly ran off.

Coward? The Hunter grunted irritated. That was a new one. He called him a coward, but then ran off himself?

Or...His eye narrowed. He wasn't escaping- he was leading him away from the House of Healing and the soldiers.

Well, he would entertain him.

He jumped off his perch and landed on a building further down, then headed after the Demon. The man had a large head start already, but that didn't matter much. He shot another bolt of plasma at him, only for the man to dive to the side, letting the projectile detonate on the floor harmlessly.

Then he sped up suddenly, before he slid to his knees and yanked one of those metal covers off the floor, revealing a hole into the underbelly of the city jungle beneath. He wasted no time to drop into it.

The Hunter growled approving. It didn't matter whether this was panic that led the Demon or the attempt to ambush him, but it made the hunt endlessly more exciting. He landed on the floor besides the narrow opening and jumped in after his prey.

The moment his feet hit the concrete below, the sensors of his mask tried to pick up his trail, though he quickly realized that it wouldn't work here.

It was warm down here, almost a sweltering heat from the combination of the sewage decomposing, the heat from the outside and the narrow tunnels.

And it rendered his prey invisible to his sensors, for his body temperature did not differ too much from his surrounding now.

The Ripper's mandibles were pulled away from his mouth in a wide unhinged grin. This- this was what he craved for. Not a simple hunt, not a simple battle- this was a _real_ hunt in which both parties were fighting for survival and tricked each other. As he started moving into the direction his prey most likely fled to, his claws went up to the side of his mask to change the spectrum and increase the audio input. He could hear the man's feet hit the floor further down this labyrinth of darkness, and sped up himself. With all those turns and curves here, as well as all the large machines and obstacles, the man was save from his ranged attacks. He wanted him to come closer.

The Hunter chuckled and switched into a vision he usually used for hunting prey in the dark. He could see the shadows and sparks of the man's lightning powers in the distance, often swallowed up by whatever obstacle he was moving around.

The Hunter tapped his wrist devise, making a glowing trail appear in his line of vision. Electricity left behind a noticeable trail of ionized molecules and atoms. Something he could easily follow.

He increased his speed, his feet thudding on the ground as he followed after the trail. When he reached a larger area with metal grates attached to the walls, he leapt up, following his prey. His excitement only grew when he reached a massive open room with metallic tanks and grates.

Everything had been charged up, spreading ions everywhere and covering the tracks. His prey had learnt much in this short amount of time- and it made the hunt a lot more interesting.

The Demon wasn't nearby, though, the sound of him running along the sewers was still moving away from his hunter.

The Ripper clicked again and continued hunting.

This was a fine chase.

* * *

The sewer were larger than he ever expected them to be. It was almost like a whole different city down here. He passed by several homeless oomans, who gathered around a fire burning in an old barrel, while following after the trail of ionized air.

It was harder, because there was so much metal around that had been charged and thus the trail was smudged, but this was what made the hunt only more exciting and his prey only more valuable to take down.

The Hunter had found several of those energy stations scattered throughout the entire maze of the sewage, all with clear signs that they have been drained of their power. The Demon required electricity to function, to unleash his own attacks. That was his weakness.

And it left a clear trail.

But he had underestimated how fast his prey could move down here. He had troubles chasing after him, for several obstacles required more skills to cross than others, and more often than not he found the sewage at the bottom of the massive rooms to be impassable because the man had dropped high powered cables inside, setting the entire liquid ablaze with electrical currents, forcing his hunter to move a different way.

He was clever, and fast.

The Ripper's claws itched with the need to take his prey down. His hunt was coming to a close, the final encounter was approaching fast.

But the Demon seemed to be aware of it and went through great troubles to keep him at a distance.

He was planning something, but what?

The track led into a smaller tunnel, and eventually headed towards a broken grate. It was fresh too, so his prey had been here short time ago. The Hunter clicked his mandibles again and followed after him. He wasn't anywhere nearby anymore, his sensors could no longer pick up his heartbeat or his footfall, so he had managed to get enough distance between them.

Instead the Ripper followed the trail of ionized air through a small hatch at the wall, into a large open area.

It looked like it had been a large tunnel before, but it had collapsed a while back, and there was water everywhere. The Ripper could see the twisted wreckages of vehicles lying strewn about, and rubble from where the ceiling collapsed.

Workers had tried to clear it and stabilize the tunnel, but at the moment there was nobody.

With almost no metal around, the trail of his prey was clearer. The Hunter realized that he avoided deeper areas of water, having bypassed several larger puddles completely, even though it meant it would cost him some time.

Well, water and lightning didn't mix well. So maybe this was some weakness?

His prey had moved outside, past demolished turrets and wrecked vehicles.

The Ripper stopped as soon he exited the tunnel, head inclined to the side curiously. He was back on the streets again. In the other district, the one they called 'Neon'. The one he fought the Demon the first time.

His prey was nowhere to be seen, though, and with all the large billboards running, his trail had all but vanished. He could no longer follow after the ionized air, since there was simply too much of it.

The Hunter snorted and jumped off the floor to climb atop a low building. His prey had managed to elude him.

For now.

* * *

Cole glanced back when he reached the first Substation Moya had him activate in the Neon. He had kept his Radar Pulse active for the entire time he was running through the sewers, keeping an eye on his surroundings. He had managed to shake the Ripper after he exited through the Jefferson Tunnel, but hadn't stopped running until he was back down in the sewers.

But now he started to feel the effect of his constant use of his Radar senses. His pulse was racing, his clothes stuck uncomfortably to his body and head hurt, even draining the Substation a little bit didn't help much.

"Now I know why I never used it so much", he snorted half amused. He felt exhausted, but his nerves were buzzing with anxious energy. He wondered whether it had been enough to rescue the Marines that he led the Ripper away.

He did lose him after all, though that had been a part of his plan. With some luck, the guy was going to keep looking for him for a little while longer.

But that didn't mean he could drag his ass now. He had to finish this before more people died.

Cole snorted and headed deeper into the bowels of Empire. It was a good thing he knew this place like the back of his hand from his earliest days as Urban Explorer.

He turned around a bend and headed into a maintenance tunnel, then turned left. He was moving slower than usual, so he wouldn't lose valuable moments if he was ambushed. After all, he knew he was heading into a dangerous territory.

But every port in a storm, right?

And as much as he loathed it, he would have to bite the bullet and do this. So his legs were moving automatically, without him giving them any order. His brain was too busy trying to piece a strategy against the Ripper together anyways, one that would save his skin preferably without getting disemboweled. He did not want to experience _that_ again.

He spotted a pair of armed guards in front of him, but that didn't deter him.

They were jumpy, that much he could tell, so approaching them was going to be tricky.

But they were also just beneath a cable duct. Cole smirked and jumped up, scrambling into the narrow tunnel and then made his way over to where the two stood. They didn't notice him, nor did they realize when he softly dropped down behind them. Cole toyed with the idea of knocking them out, but then decided against it. So he simply continued deeper into the hideout within the sewers.

They were high-strung here, and extremely nervous. He could tell.

Even with their own minds mostly gone, they realized how dangerous it was. This was why they were so twitchy. Any wrong movement would probably result in a violent discharge of weapons.

Cole was moving carefully, sticking to the darker areas. He had no intentions to deal with them. Or at least, not with the lower grunts.

He had no trouble moving deeper into the hideout, though he was honestly a little bit worried about the overall lack of inhabitants. Did the Ripper's violence escalate ever since they fought?

Cole didn't want to think about it. These guys here were his enemies, though he couldn't help but feel guilty over not having managed to protect them.

Even if they were violent bastards now, they had been real people at some time. People who had friends and family. That thought made his stomach twist angrily.

It was almost enough for him to abort this mission and head topside to try taking out that bastard who caused all this.  
But if he let his anger do the fighting and not his head, then he was going to end up on the wrong side of those claws. So Cole pressed on.

Truth to be told, he didn't really look forward to do this, but hard times require equally desperate measurements. His determination did waver a bit when he reached his intended target and saw _her_. Perched on her throne, with heavy guards all around her.

This alone meant that even she was nervous.

Cole inhaled and steeled his resolve, then he took a step into the open room and into the light.

In an instant, all assault rifles were aimed at him, though they didn't shoot. Yet. The Conduit lifted his hands to show that he didn't plan on fighting. His face was still set into a deep scowl, however.

Without wasting any more time, he turned his attention to the only female in the room.

"I need your help, Sasha."


	9. Hunter

**Author: Second to last Chapter.**

 **Also, I love Cole's Reaper skin in inFAMOUS2.**

 **EDIT: Thanks to DeliciousCookie pointing out a minor grammar mistake, I have fixed it. Thanks for mentioning it.**

* * *

Hunter

His prey had eluded him. Tricked him. Managed to disappear. He couldn't even find a trace of him, as the trail of ionized particles had disappeared amongst the bright signs and millions of electrical appliances all over the city jungle.

It reminded him of the older man, and he couldn't help but wonder: Had they known each other before they fought until the older man dropped dead? Both had the same abilities, with the older man just having the advantage of experience.

But it seemed the older man had taught the younger one much. Or- which could be possible since they didn't seem to exactly _stand_ each other- the younger one had devised _exactly the same_ trick the older one used to vanish.

The Hunter clicked his mandibles together slightly irritated. The weather was getting colder again, and he should finish his hunt soon, but now the Demon continued to elude him. He wondered if he _knew_ \- or was just trying to hide until he lost his interest.  
He shook his head. That didn't fit into the image of the younger man. He was no coward. After all- he did challenge him, even directly, and had led him away. He _wanted_ to fight him, but it seemed he didn't want to do so now.

He wanted to face him on his own terms. And that thought excited the Hunter. It was one thing hunting prey- and another one hunting prey on its own terms and ground.

But a part of him wanted to finally finish this. He was growing weary of this world, wanted to get back and hunt the Black Serpents, which were much more thrilling than these soft creatures. So he was impatient as he stalked the edges of this 'Neon' area.

He wondered whether he should try to draw his prey out again. Hunting lesser prey seemed to...rile him. The Hunter wondered why, for he did hunt them as well. They were his prey too, and still, he felt it was necessary to fight him over their lives.

He snorted. It seemed they both were hunters, even if the Demon didn't know it. And two hunters fighting over the same territory- only one of them was going to survive.

The muffled sound of an distant explosion drew his attention. The Ripper whirled around, eye narrow behind his mask as he searched for the origin of the blast.

In the area the oomans called 'Historic', was a thin column of smoke rising. In an instant, the Hunter tapped the side of his mask to zoom closer and increase the audio output of that place. He picked up the sounds of weapon discharge and more explosions, and began moving.

Maybe this wasn't the prey he originally wanted, but battles meant prey worthy of hunt.

It was a chance he wouldn't let pass by unused.

* * *

As the Hunter reached the Historic area, the battle was raging. He was perched atop the hollowed-out shell of a building near the blast crater, glancing down. He saw the men in the masks being driven back by a large group of the men in the red hoods. He frowned, inclining his head. Those usually didn't leave the Neon. And more even, they were more like wild animals- snarling and growling instead of actually speaking- but they were clever. They moved fast and vanished into the underbelly of the city if they were threatened, but they weren't as powerful as the men belonging to the other groups. Hunting them was for warming up, really, and for when he had nothing better to hunt. They usually were the weakest of them. But now they were boldly attacking the strongest out of the three factions.

Well, they used to be the strongest. The Hunter clicked thoughtful. He had hunted them during his time here, but the Demon had violently devastated their ranks already. And when their leader died, they all but...vanished. Their numbers had dwindled noticeably too.

So maybe the Serpent Woman had decided to let her warriors take over this area and take them from the masked men's clutches? She was the only of the Great Powers left, bar the Demon. Maybe she was trying to get more control over the city?

He frowned again. Maybe he should hunt the Serpent Woman- she seemed to be a formidable foe herself.

The sound of battle drew his attention yet again. Interested, he watched how the hooded men drove back the masked men, snarling and hissing like the rabid animals they were. He clicked once before he jumped to another roof to keep them in his line of vision.

The hooded men suddenly stopped chasing after the masked men and instead began to rush through the empty streets and _away_ from him. He set after them, wondering whether it was an incident or whether they were aware of him. Four of them suddenly broke away to the side, stopping to throw sticks of explosives behind them. Not in _his_ direction, but towards the hollow building he was currently on, and the ones besides them. The constructions collapsed in an ear-splitting cacophony of breaking stone and mortar, forcing the Hunter to retreat, least he wanted to be swept away in the maelstrom of dust and rubble.

This has _not_ been on random. No. They _knew_ he was stalking them. They _knew_ he was there.

The Hunter scanned through the dust of the collapsing building, finding all of the hooded men standing in the middle of the crater, turned towards his position.

He snorted. They were forcing him into the open. They were _waiting_ for him.

With one bound, he leaped through the cloud of dust and hit the crater ground with a heavy thud. The hooded men still couldn't see him, but they were pulling back with snarls, glancing uncertainly around.

And then one of them suddenly lifted his arm and aimed his palm at him.

A lightning bolt smashed into the Hunter's chest before he could even react, sending him stumbling back and rendering him visible. While the other hooded men scattered and fled back into the city jungle, the one that attacked him slowly lifted his head, glaring at him.

It was the Demon.

The Hunter eyed him in surprise. Not only did he ally himself with his enemies, he also disguised himself as one of them and he had lured him out.  
Like a Hunter preparing bait for a trap.

It took him a moment to realize it, but once it did, the Ripper doubled over, laughter echoing from his throat.

His prey had truly become a hunter himself.

* * *

There had been a small moment in which Cole doubted himself. Doubted that his plan would work. Doubted that he was doing the right thing. But there had been no backing down. He had asked Sasha for help (again), suggesting a truce until the Ripper was done for. Surprisingly, Sasha had agreed. Cole assumed that she wasn't as crazy as he always thought. Or she had the mind of a mad scientist. He couldn't really tell.

But, as it was, she had suggested that he'd dress up as one of the Reapers, to lure the Hunter out. Cole, after a moment hesitation, had to realize that this was actually an even better idea than what he originally planned- namely have the Reapers lure out the killer (or Alien, or whatever he was), while he waited in a hideout and took him by surprise.

So he had exchanged his usual yellow shirt and tell-tale union-jack-print pants for a Reaper uniform (which was surprisingly clean) and enough face paint to supply three elementary schools. Cole wasn't sure about getting a skull painted on his face, but Sasha assured him that it would come off again.

He really hoped it would- he couldn't run around looking like a Reaper out of Uniform after all of this was said and done.

He had started to doubt that this would work when he and a bunch of real Reapers went into the Historic district to torture a bunch of First Sons. Not that Cole was objecting- without the First Sons, Trish would be still alive- but he just didn't see the point in fighting if there was something better to do. But then his Radar Senses picked up something in the background, twisted and smudged by a familiar field of energy. The Ripper had arrived and was following them.

Cole ordered the Reapers to head to the center of the crater, and to blow up the buildings behind them. This bought them some time to head into the open. The Conduit took a moment to check for the broken cables that had been around when he fought Kessler. They were still there and still sparking, so he positioned one foot near one of them and just waited.

The Dust parted in one place, seconds before something heavy hit the ground. Cole didn't give the killer any time to react when he charged up a lightning bolt and targeted the other.

The attack connected, blasted his field apart and rendered him visible. That was when the other Reapers scattered, escaping to return to Sasha. Cole let them. They had helped him and he wasn't going to shoot them down. Besides, he would need all his strength for the Ripper.

He lifted his head and glared at him.

The massive Alien seemed surprised for a moment, before he suddenly bowed his upper body and started...laughing. It was a deep sound, barely human. But the implications were clear: The Hunter was highly amused by Cole's attempt at luring him out.

Cole's eyes narrowed. _I give you something to laugh at._

He stomped his foot down onto the sparking wire, and lightning started to snap out of his body in a massive arc.

The sky darkened instantly. The Ripper clicked once before he tapped his wrist gauntlet. Cole noticed the shoulder canon swing into his direction.

 _Well, too bad._

He unleashed the charge he gathered, summoning a massive pillar of lightning. The Ripper made a startled noise and dodged to the side, but Cole focused on him, letting the lightning change its traction and follow after the alien. His net-like armor sparked from the proximity of the massive electrical field. Cole frowned, remembering their first battle. The guy had a sort of drainage device that rendered his attacks useless, but even the relatively small discharge he had used when he tackled him had managed to shut it off.

A second pillar of lightning slammed into the ground on the Ripper's other side, trapping him inside a massive field of heavy electrical currents. They wouldn't touch each other, though. He had experienced it once and that had been a discharge even he couldn't control, but as long both lightning pillars were close to each other, the field created between them was enough. Cole ground his teeth together against the pain that raced through his body from having to channel this much energy at once, but hearing the Hunter howl out in agony was definitely worth it. He just had to hold it until he had fried that stupid tech- or the Ripper himself, if possible.

The Alien shrieked, but his cramping muscles didn't seem to deter him much when his claw smacked the wrist gauntlet. Cole's eyes widened when he saw a blue orb of energy peel itself out of the sheet of lightning and race towards him. He reacted immediately, diving to the side to avoid the projectile that would hurt even him; at the price of collapsing his Lightning Storm.

The smell of singed flesh hit his nostrils as he rolled over his shoulder to get back to his feet. The Ripper snarled and shook his massive head, flicking his dreadlocks, and a metal object dropped from his belt, singed black. The Alien grunted, then turned his attention towards Cole. Cole sneered back and ducked low. Both moved at the same time.

The Hunter flung the metal disc towards the Conduit, who jumped off the floor to let it fly into empty air. He was an easy target up here- he had experienced it several times before during his battle for Empire, but that didn't mean he had to remain that way. So he twisted his body and unleashed a Kinetic Blast to the back. Since he didn't have a solid footing, he was flung to the front, towards the Ripper. The Alien lunged at him in that moment, clawed fingers flexed anxiously.

Cole swallowed, preparing himself. He knew this was a crucial moment- if the guy managed to grab him then his chances would turn bad pretty fast.

Lightning arched over his body, before he made it explode outwards. The Ripper made a startled noise, jerking back slightly. It wasn't much, not more than a misstep to others- but to Cole it was all he needed.

Moving like a cat, he seized the scaled arm of his foe and used his own momentum to swing over the other's back. The Ripper snarled and swung his arm into his direction, Dual Blades already popped out and ready to kill. Cole hissed and brought his leg between his torso and the lethal weapons, while also grabbing the shoulder canon. In the very moment the metal bit painfully into his thigh, Cole wrenched the gun off the Ripper's shoulder with a loud _crack_. Judging by the surprised head jerk of the Alien, this was clearly something that hadn't happened before and wasn't suppose to happen _at all._

 _Thank God for my enhanced strength._

Then the Ripper suddenly flung his other arm out, grabbed the Conduit and tore him off his shoulder. The blades, that were still stuck in his leg, twisted roughly, forcing Cole to grit his teeth against the pain. Without missing a beat, the Hunter slammed his opponent into the ground, hard enough to crack the floor. Cole hissed when his skull collided with the pavement below. When the Ripper then yanked out his Dual Blades, Cole's vision briefly turned white, though he quickly got back into the game when he saw the Alien lift his claws over his head. The Conduit snarled and discharged his body, sending thousands of volts into his foe, who jerked back with a pained yelp, freeing him in the process.

Cole wasted no time to scramble away from the killer and back into the open, before he whipped around to face him once more. He didn't put any weight on his injured leg, though he could feel the sting that came with his powers knitting his flesh together. The Ripper stared at the sparks and the healing wound with interest, and the intensity of his stare deeply unsettled the young man.

" _ **Superhuman"**_ , the Ripper snarled a moment later. _**"Worthy hunt"**_

Looks like Zeke had been right about that Code thing. Cole ducked his body and readied himself. He could stand to get a fresh charge, so he would have to get to the nearest wire to juice up. A quick flick of his eyes to the side told him that there was one of them nearby. Okay, he could do it. The Ripper didn't have his canon anymore. The single most dangerous thing he had on him was a useless piece of twisted metal on the floor besides Cole now.

Though it didn't meant that the guy was beaten- he was only far less dangerous now.

Cole moved. His natural agility did only increase with his powers, allowing him to rush faster than most people. The Hunter snarled and turned his massive head to watch him. Out of the corner of his eye, the Conduit notice him reach for his gauntlet. He wasn't sure whether he actually heard the sharp _beep_ or whether he imagined it, but he _did_ hear the sharp hiss of the shuriken thing as it cut through the air. He swore and aborted his rush for the nearest electrical wire to flop flat to the ground, avoiding the lethal disc as it soared through the air. The Ripper caught it effortlessly and fixed it back to his belt. Cole was back on his feet, glaring at the Alien.

The Hunter made this clicking sound again and inclined his head, as if daring him to try something similar again. Cole balled his fist, bounced on his heels twice- and kicked off the ground. The other snarled and ripped that rifle thing off its holster against his leg, but Cole was faster. He chucked several Shock Grenades towards his foe, where they bounced off the floor before they exploded in a shower of electric sparks. The Ripper pulled back with another snarl, but not before squeezing off a few shots. Cole threw his hand out and generated his Shield, stopping the Y-shaped projectiles in mid-air.

 _Twack_

Cole blinked at the small thing that suddenly hit the ground next to his foot. He needed a moment to realize that it was blinking.

 _Right. Bombs._

The Conduit all but threw his body to the side, while also moving his shield between himself and the explosive disc.

When it went off, the shockwave threw him several yards through the air. Cole swore as he struggled to get into a better position, but the time was too short to stabilize his posture. He barely hit the floor with his feet and felt something twist painfully (probably his ankle, Zeke has told him a dozen times not to move them them when landing), seconds before another bomb burrowed itself into the ground. This one, he zapped to loosen it and flip it back, so it detonated more or less harmlessly away from him. The explosion still made his ears ring and some piece of debris caught him on the cheek.

The Ripper threw his arm to the front, releasing three more bombs. Cole scowled and smacked them with his Kinetic Blast to blow them up long before they came into his vicinity. The detonations were still immense and they did whirl up quite a lot of dust, obstructing his view. Cole swore and jumped backwards, away from the cloud. He couldn't afford being blinded through obstructing dirt.

 _Flunk_

Cole blinked. That sound was new.

Confused, he turned to glance into the Ripper's direction, moments before something hurled towards him. He jumped backwards again, only for the thing to suddenly extend into every direction. His brain came to a screeching stand-still.

 _A net?!_

Seriously, from all things the guy could have used, this looked like the least dangerous one. It was a large net with one peg attached to either corner.

A second later he realized that he shouldn't take any chances, no matter what he thought, so he jumped off the floor and tried to avoid it.

He underestimated both the speed with which the net flew and the sheer amount of force it had. He was simply too slow to avoid it, and it hit him with the power of a small car, flinging him through mid-air like a ragdoll. Cole threw his arms up in an instinctive reaction to protect himself and arched his back, moments before he hit the ground hard.

And then the four corner pegs of the thing suddenly burrowed into the ground, fastening the net and Cole securely to the ground.

Cole hissed and tried to kick it off, but then he heard a sharp mechanical whirr. He noticed how something in the pegs started to spin, drawing the net in- pulling it taut and trapping him inside.

He snarled and wrapped his fingers around the metal strings as it tightened more around him- but let go of it almost immediately with a pained yelp.

The metal wire was razor sharp.

And Cole realized just how screwed he was.

The net cut into his forearms and shins, and continued to shrink around him, slicing deeper and squeezing his legs harshly against his body. The Conduit began panicking, struggling to somehow escape his restraints. He heard a sharp click and twisted his head to the side, noticing the Ripper approach him with his lance.

 _Oh Shit._

He couldn't tear through the net, for it was much too durable, but he had to get out before that bastard got close enough to skewer him (again) with that spear. But entire brain was screaming and running around in circles, because the net had drawn too tight and cut bleeding wounds into his body and everything _hurt_.

He tried tugging again, but the metal bit harshly into his palms.

 _Evolve or die._

Cole snarled at the sudden flashback of Kessler's words, and his fist curled around the metal, unbothered by the sharp sting. Kessler had thought him weak. But he wasn't. He was stronger. Stronger than that. A _net_ wouldn't stop him.

The Ripper had come too close by now, only a few more steps separated them. Lightning snapped out of the Conduit's skin, setting the net ablaze with electricity.

 _Induction heating is the process of_ _heating_ _an electrically conducting object (usually a_ _metal_ _) by e_ _lectromagnetic induction._

Cole's body jumped into a frenzy, with lightning lashing out of his skin like a wild fire. The Ripper stopped a few feet away from his would-be victim, glancing at the sparks that prevented him from coming closer.

The metal between the Conduit's fingers started to heat up. Slowly at first, but it soon started to glow red hot. Cole grit his teeth with a curse word when the heat seared his skin where the metal had sliced into him.

There was a sharp hiss and the smell of hot metal, seconds before the net snapped apart. Cole immediately lunged towards the surprised Ripper, lightning fashioned into a pair of blades on either hand.

 _Payback, Bitch._

Moving faster than the Alien could react, he slammed both Blades into his lower torso, before he charged up again and send thousands of volts slamming right into the Ripper's body. The Alien recoiled with a pained howl, his entire body convulsing. Cole could smell burnt flesh and he noticed the warm, glowing green blood run over his hands where the heat wasn't enough to dry it immediately.

But he didn't stay close for long. As soon he felt his own powers drain, he shoved hard against the Alien and jumped away. This blow just took all out of him and he had to recharge.

He dove for the nearest electrical wire, ignoring the shrieks of pain behind him. However, as he latched onto the outlets, his eyes widened in horror. Several mines were scattered around the only source of electricity around.

And they all beeped once.

"Crap"

Cole had barely enough time left to throw his body to the side as far as he could, before all of the mines went up in a glorious ball of fire. He hit his head hard against the floor, and everything went black.

* * *

Cole groaned when his consciousness came back to him. Everything around him was burning and he felt like crap. Every inch of his body hurt.

It reminded him of the time he woke up after the Blast.

Moaning, he struggled back to his feet, trying his best to ignore his pounding head. Shit. How much time had passed?

He shook his head, trying to clear it, when he noticed a shadow falling over him. He just managed to dive away to dodge a violent spear thrust. He quickly got some more distance between himself and his attacker, and finally turned around- to face the Ripper.

Sucker was still standing. Figures.

"Shit", Cole groaned, "You are one tough bastard, aren't you?"

" _ **Superhuman"**_ , the Alien snarled with an audible pant in his voice. Cole furrowed his brows. The guy was standing- barely. The two wounds he'd torn with his Electro Blades had already closed, most likely because of the intense heat of his weapons, but there were still tell-tale green stains on the killer's mottled skin. His entire body posture was stiff, as if he was in pain.

And there were sparks across the metal parts of his armor. The eyes of his mask were fizzling on and off, and the wrist-mounted computer was scorched black from the immense discharge.

Cole knew he'd done a number on his foe, but had to realize along the same line that neither of both could keep going for much longer.

The blast from before- it had done more than just knock him around. No, it had damaged the electric grid of the Historic District, causing this entire area to be without power.

Great.

Cole shook his head and scowled deep. No juice for him anymore. No wonder his head hurt so much.

The Ripper made a weird strangled noise, seconds before something at the side of his mask blew up. He grabbed the helmet and ripped it off his face to fling it away with a disgruntled snort. Cole saw the inside of the thing smolder, and there were fresh burns on the Hunter's face.

The Alien clicked his mandibles together and popped his Dual Blades out of his gauntlet, before roaring at Cole. The Conduit scowled back, though his eyes kept slipping out of focus. Damn weakness that came without any sort of juice around.

This was it, then. The last encounter, huh?

They rounded each other, glaring. None of them dared to make the first move.

Cole watched his opponent closely. For all the damage he must have wrecked on the guy's internal system, he was moving pretty well. His golden eye was focused, but not solely on him. He was ready for whatever the Conduit would throw at him.

Cole ground his teeth together. Better at reacting than acting, he didn't know what to do. If he would snap first, the Ripper could easily react. If the Alien went at him first, then he maybe wouldn't be able to stop him.

He scowled as they slowly continued to circle each other, trying to figure out any sort of weakness in the other.

Until Cole stepped onto some loose rubble. His feet slipped, causing him to lose his focus and stumble with a swear. The Ripper lunged at him.

The Conduit ducked under the initial Blade Swing, but missed the follow-up backhand thrown into his direction. The impact snapped his head back and rattled his teeth while bruising his jaw.

 _Ow._

His lip had split, but the wound was knitting itself together before it could spill blood. But he already had worse. Cole threw his entire weight into his opponent, targeting one of the wounds he'd torn before with a vicious headbutt. He didn't really think it would have worked, but the Ripper flinched back with a barely contained pained yelp.

A smirk appeared on his face. Okay. He could work with that.

The Ripper snarled and swung his claws at him again, And Cole dodged again, though this time he jumped up and grabbed the arm, letting himself be pulled along. He drew his knees against his body and delivered a powerful kick into the Ripper's chest with both feet, making him stumble. The Alien swung his arm in both an attempt to keep his balance and slice him with his claws, but Cole quickly dodged and slammed his shoulder into the other's torso.

The Ripper stepped back to keep steady and grabbed the Conduit, then flung him off and through the air.

Cole hissed and twisted his feet down to land, but jumped at the larger the next moment. He couldn't afford letting him get his bearings together- and he should be faster than the massive Alien anyways.

He overestimated himself. Badly.

The Ripper was faster than him, able to swing around and snatch his throat within the blink of an eye. Cole choked when the Hunter nearly crushed his trachea and effortlessly held him aloft. The Conduit's hands snapped up and clawed into the scaled skin for hold and to take the weight off his neck.

 _Okay. That hadn't been so brilliant._

The Ripper clicked again and moved his arm, Dual Blades ready to skewer his opponent. Cole's eyes narrowed. Like Hell he would allow this to happen again. Instead, his muscles coiled together and he wrenched his legs upwards, kicking his foe with full power into his armored throat. The metal- weakened and heavily damaged through the massive amount of electricity having surged through it before- gave in with an ugly crunch.

The Ripper reeled back with a choking noise, letting go of Cole, who dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. The Conduit coughed and massaged his sore neck, before his attention returned to the Alien not even three feet from him.

The Hunter was on one knee, mandibles flaring as he made an ungodly gurgling choking sort of sound, while one hand was clawing against his throat. Cole saw green blood trickle out from behind his fingers.

Some of the metal of his collar had impaled his neck when he kicked him.

Cole faltered for a moment. Should he try to heal him? Should he leave him to die?

It was in his nature to help others, having tried to rescue Moya, even as the _Washington_ sank and against everything his brain told him.

But this guy- he murdered hundreds. Took their skulls as trophies. Had tried to kill him- and endangered even more. Did he deserve mercy?

He didn't. The Conduit grit his teeth and rose to his feet, then slowly walked over to the Alien, who glared at him with a snarl.

"Guess this is it", Cole growled. "End of the Line, buddy."

" _ **Champion"**_ , the Ripper croaked.

Cole halted for a moment, eyes narrow. The Marine had said that they have some sort of detonation device on them to take their life should everything go south. But he had fried it, hadn't he?

Better not take any chances.

The Conduit lunged at his weakened opponent, tackling bodily into him. And this time, the Ripper couldn't withstand the assault. The two of them slammed hard into the ground, Cole on top. He saw movement from the corner of his eye and stomped his foot down to pin the Ripper's arm against the floor.

The Alien snarled once, but didn't offer any more resistance. He admitted his defeat.

Cole grabbed his face, while the other hand curled against his shoulder. He almost stopped there, though, because what he was about to do was not something he never enjoyed doing.

Reminded him too much of David.

But some foes didn't deserve anything better- and he had to heal.

So the Conduit turned his attention towards the closest source of Electrical Energy. The synaptic charges of the Alien.

The Ripper gave one startled whimper when Cole leeched him, then his body convulsed once before it went still. The Conduit stumbled back with a hiss, away from the fresh cadaver, then sat down with a groan.

It was done. The Ripper was no more.


	10. And the Road ever goes on

And the Road ever goes on

Zeke had tried to figure out where his best friend had gone after he all but jumped through the closed window of Bayview. He had asked the warden about the Jefferson Tunnel before he bolted, so Zeke of course had hurried to get there, only that the tunnel was devoid of people.

He began to worry for Cole, and tried to find him.

In the end, if you look for a Conduit with Electrical powers and an Alien Aggressor from another planet that liked to collect skulls for trophies, it was easiest to head towards the largest explosion.

And there were some over in the Historic District.

Zeke swore, and hurried to head over to that place- which was easier said than done since there was no viable bridge left between the Neon and the Historic, so he had to head through the Warren.

He was running on his last fumes when he finally arrived near the crater.

The Explosions had let up and there was only a deadly silence left.

His heart clenched. What if Cole didn't manage to beat that guy? What if all he would find was a horribly familiar body with no spine and skull left?

He didn't wanted to think about this.

Zeke's steps faltered as his brain flashed through all the mangled remains of his best friend it could imagine. He tried to think that Cole had won, but those ideas were quickly drowned out, however.

He needed a moment to collect himself, hyperventilate for a good few minutes to supress the urge to scream or throw up, before he finally found enough strength to continue walking deeper into the Blast Crater.

The first thing he saw was the aftermath of some really hard battle that had gone on. There were scorch marks everywhere. Rubble, pieces of twisted metal and asphalt were scattered around haphazardly.

But no Cole.

Zeke glanced around, then headed for the elevated ground at the center of the crater- where Cole fought Kessler- to look around. A bit to the side, hidden behind what had once been a building, was a figure sitting in the dust.

Zeke hopped off the platform and rushed over to them, in the vague hopes it'd be someone who would know something.

It was a Reaper.

Zeke gasped and stopped immediately, but his momentum was too large for the loose underground. The rubble beneath skidded away from his feet, so Zeke swore and stumbled, eventually landing hard on his behind.

The Reaper's hooded head snapped up, the shaded visage turning into his direction even as he nimbly climbed to his feet.

Zeke swallowed, hard, slowly drawing his gun and aiming it at the junkie. "Okay", he pressed out, "Stay where you are and I won't have to use my little friend here, capish?"

The Reaper paused, slightly swaying on his feet, hooded head slowly moving from him to his gun and back. Zeke knew about these guys- Sasha's tar had made them into mindless drones, most weren't even able of speech anymore. But they could, mostly, still comprehend other's words.

He hoped this guy was alone and not just a scout from a whole group of Reapers.

Then, to his surprise, the Reaper suddenly made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a light chuckle.

"Put that away", the Reaper told him with an amused tone. "It won't hurt me. And anyways, I've been shot at with larger guns already."

Zeke blinked. His mind was blank. He blinked again, mouth hanging open. The Reaper chuckled again and reached up to remove his hood.

He wore a torn Reaper hoodie and his face was painted- mostly black with a white skull pattern, but the blue eyes and buzzcut was, without question-

"Cole?!"

"At your service", the Conduit grinned. Zeke needed another moment to comprehend what was going on, before he lunged over and fiercly hugged his best friend.

"Oh Jesus, Cole! I thought you were dead!" Zeke whimpered.

"Yeah. Not this time", his friend replied with a wince. "Could you maybe let go of me? I had a rough time."

Zeke blinked (again. He wasn't the fastest on uptake today), and slowly let go of Cole. His best friend looked pretty beat up, now that he thought about it.

His current clothes were singed in placed and had been torn- especially his lower pant legs and sleeves hung in shreds, and his limbs beneath those tears were coated with wild scars that criss-crossed all over his skin. His hands (or gloves, really) were stained with green splotches. The paint on his face had chipped off in places, especially around his right cheek where some dried blood was. His overall body posture was stiff, but also very tired.

Zeke blinked again and glanced at Cole's outfit. "What's with the threads, bro? Are you trying to make a statement?"

"Disguise", Cole explained. "Was either that or the Dustmen. And I sure as Hell am not going to wear a trashbag."

Zeke chuckled. "Yeah. With the skull print you kinda look like an evil Vodoo assassin."

"Well, thank you very much."

"Doesn't tell me why you did that, though."

Cole shrugged. "I cheated. Pretended I was somebody I am not to get the drop on that sucker."

The Ripper. Right.

"What- what about the Ripper?" Zeke asked carefully.

Cole snorted and nodded over his shoulder. "Judge for yourself."

Zeke turned and glanced into the direction his friend had motioned to, then jumped back in shock (and surprise).

There was a massive body, nearly eight feet tall, with mottled green skin, long dreadlocks and a scorched armor. There were green stains on his throat and chest, as well as near his mandibles.

"Holy shit!" He gasped, before he slowly approached the figure. The Ripper was dead. "Shit, Cole. You did it!"

"Yeah", Cole replied. He shuffled his feet slightly. "Bio Leeched him", he explained with a rather silent voice. "Was the only way...to make sure."

Zeke blinked, glancing at his friend. He knew how Cole thought about this rather...lethal ability of his. Normally, people wouldn't suffer too much from his attacks- the lightning strikes were too short to do any lasting damage to the internal organs, though he had no troubles frying some foes with more voltage to make sure they stayed down. But the Bio Leech- this was some serious _Avada Kedavra_ Bullshit. Its only purpose was to kill- and killing was what it was damn good in. There was no chance to rescue somebody Cole had leeched. It was a simple and total system shutdown.

Cole always said he didn't like using the leech. No matter who he was fighting, he never enjoyed killing. Not when there were other options available.

Zeke frowned and scoffed a moment later. "He got what he deserved", he snorted. "I mean, killing Reapers and Dustmen is one thing- but killing the _good_ guys?" He approached the body again. "And Jesus. That guy _is_ ugly. You weren't kidding."

"Yeah", Cole sighed. "What are we going to do with him now?"

"Well, we aren't gonna hand him over to the army", Zeke decided. "You know the movies. People get Alien Tech- everybody dies."

Cole chuckled. "Guess so-" Suddenly he cut himself off with a strangled noise, making Zeke turn around confused.

"Did you say something?"

The Conduit looked very pale, eyes blown wide. "Zeke", he ground out with a strained voice. "Put your gun away and come over here. Slowly."

Zeke frowned at his best friend, worried to see him stare at some point _behind_ him. He turned around.

And froze in terror.

Five more Rippers stood there, eying the two of them idly.

"Zeke" Cole whispered. The urge in his voice left no room for arguments and Zeke slowly backed off, never breaking eye contact with the apparent leader of the group. Four of the Rippers looked pretty similar to the one Cole toasted- with similar armors, mandibles and dreadlocks. The fifth, however, looked a lot older. He was also taller, had gray dreadlocks, more bristles over his eyes and one of his tusks was broken.

Zeke swallowed as he backed off. When he finally reached Cole, he inched to stand behind him. His friend was equally nervous, but luckily managed to get his bearings together. He pulled his lips up in a snarl and spread his arms, letting sparks run along them.

"Okay", he snapped, "If you guys want to fight- then come and fight me! This is my city! I already killed one of you- I can do so again!"

The Elder inclined his head, dark eyes watching the young man. His mandibles twitched once, before he turned to his comrades. He growled a few words in their Alien language, and his men moved to the front to gather the corpse of the Ripper.

The Elder himself went to stand in front of Cole, dwarfing him with his nearly nine foot stature. In one hand, he held a massive spear. He lifted it and the piece suddenly shortened in its length.

" _ **Worthy hunt"**_ , the Elder grunted, _**"Take it. Trophy."**_ He dropped the retracted weapon into Cole's hand.

Cole blinked in confusion. "Uh?"

The Elder made a noise again, and the air suddenly began to distort. But it wasn't just a small area, like Zeke suspected the Ripper did- no, an empty area the size of a block downtown Neon shimmered- and suddenly wasn't so empty anymore.

Instead, a giant _ship_ occupied the place now. Massive and coated in dark armor.

A single hatch opened, allowing the four Rippers to carry their dead brethren inside. The Elder glanced at Cole one last time before he followed after his kin.

The ship's engines roared to life, seconds before it vanished from sight once more. Dust was whirled up when the thing lifted off the ground and (presumably) left Earth.

Cole and Zeke were left standing there, staring with open mouths.

Zeke was the first to find his voice again. "Ho-oly shit", he gasped. "Those were _aliens_ , Cole. Real-life space _aliens_."

"I know", Cole replied with a strained voice. They would need some time to unpack. A lot of time. And alcohol. Lots too.

"...What now?" Zeke asked after another long time of staring.

"Go back to Harms", Cole decided, "Uh, tell him the Ripper's done for."

"And when he asks about the body?"

Cole frowned. "Just tell him his people took it. Or I torched it into the ground. No trace left." He furrowed his brows. "Is maybe the better choice."

"Jesus. I doubt anybody's going to believe us." Zeke shook his head. "Super Powers and Zombie Viruses okay...but _Aliens_?! What's next? Vampires?"

"Maybe we should omit that", Cole said. "So neither of us ends in a rubber cell."

"The captain's not going to like that", Zeke realized. "I guess he would have liked to get his hands on Alien tech."

"Yeah, the cap can kiss my ass", Cole grumbled. "I didn't fight that guy so some weapons company can build Alien Blasters and give them to idiots." He scratched the side of his face, frowning at the color that came off.

"I- uh..." He began slowly, "See you at home."

Zeke blinked. "Do you have to do something?"

"I have", Cole sighed. "Have to get _this_ ", he tugged at the red hoodie, "Back to Sasha. Have to tell her the bad guy's done for and we can go back to hating each other."

Zeke noticed a shudder run over his best friend's body as he added "Though I guess she's going to have other plans. Plans I probably won't like. Much."

"Uh. Then why not stay up here and forget about Sasha?" Zeke suggested, "Let her figure that out herself? I mean, it had been pretty peaceful without the Reapers."

Cole shook his head. "Won't work", he sighed. "I owe her. Without her, we wouldn't have known about the Ripper to begin with. Without the first hints she gave, it could be possible I would be dead and mounted on some wall, without any of us being any wiser. Plus she risked her people so I could get to this guy. I mean she's crazy and everything, but the Reapers are her family." He sighed again, more explosive this time. "Also, she still has my stuff."

"Which you can easily replace", Zeke reminded him. "You have an entire closet full of the _same_ outfit."

"But not the bag", Cole scoffed. "I had this thing since I was twelve, Zeke. I _love_ that bag." His scowl faded and was replaced for a defeated expression. "See you in a few hours, I guess."

"Anything you'll need?"

"A beer. And a shower. And maybe a therapist."

* * *

"They simply took its body?!" The Marine Jerk snapped. Of course. He was the _only_ one besides Cole and Zeke who had learnt that the Conduit did not, in fact, burn the body, but rather that more aliens arrived and took the corpse with them. Cole didn't want to tell him, but they did pick up the ship on their radar for a short amount of time.

So it hadn't been too hard for the man to put two and two together.

And, understandable, he was quite irritated when Cole popped up near their compound without any sort of explanation of what happened and a piss-poor excuse to boot. He just had enough patience left to drag the Conduit with him into his office before he started chewing him out.

Cole, however, wasn't all too impressed with the man's outrage. He knew he couldn't hurt him physically- since pretty much every single person in Empire was going to murder the guy very violently should that happen. Not that bullets had much effect on him anyways.

"We could have learnt much!" The man snapped enraged, "Much to _help_ people!"

"It's better we don't", Cole replied coldly. "Who knows what your guys would have done if they got their fingers on tech like that."

"This isn't some fucking movie, MacGrath!" The marine exploded, "We would have known what to do and what not!"

"Sure", Cole drawled. "Have better weapons than your enemy, right? Who's it gonna be after you completely wiped out Al Qaeda? Korea? Vietnam again? Some other country at the backend off the world just because you need to create another Boogeyman?"

"No!" The captain barked, slamming his hands onto his desk. "To understand our enemies better! You don't get it, MacGrath! We aren't alone! We are _hilariously_ outgunned, in fact! We have to protect ourselves!"

"Then do it yourselves", Cole growled. "I am not a cheating device for your ambitions. You just have to get your heads out of your asses and _think_ , instead of sending others to their doom in a tiny hope that they somehow manage it." He got up, glaring at the captain. "I don't care for your power struggles or your maybes. I just want to be left alone. Got it?"

"You will never be normal", the captain snarled, "And people will always hunt you. No matter where you hide."

"That doesn't mean I'm not going to try it", the Conduit replied. He went to walk out, though stopped before leaving and turned to eye the man again. "For what it's worth- I'm sorry I couldn't prevent that guy from killing your people."

The captain blinked, then leaned back with a groan. "You know- I have my orders. If you walk out of here, you can never get close to any base that belongs to the U.S without the guys shooting at you."

Cole shrugged. "I'm a bike courier. It's not like I had any intentions ever coming close to a military compound anyways."

He walked out. This whole Anti-Alien business wasn't _his_ problem anyways. Somebody else would have to deal with them if it was ever necessary.

Cole was a good guy by nature. He tried helping wherever he could- but he was also aware of his own limits. Trish had taught him as much. And no matter what he thought, he could not save the entire world. Nobody could.

So there was no use getting worked up about things he couldn't influence- but if it was happening directly under his nose, he would damn well try to do something about it.

Like the Beast. Cole scowled. He needed to be stronger. More powerful.

If a single hunter could nearly take him out, then he probably wasn't strong enough. His gaze went to his arms, where his long sleeves and fingerless gloves covered nearly all of his skin. This was better, for people would ask about the scars all the time. The wounds where the heated metal of the net cut and burnt him never really healed completely. They were still plainly visible, shiny white scar tissue against tanned skin. The blast injuries on his chest and back, and the self-inflicted burn near his hip would sometimes twinge, especially when the weather was changing. Reminders that he should never drag his ass again.

The simple times were over. And as much as he wished them back, it would never be the same.

But at least, his mind was becoming quieter again. Last night, he slept properly eight hours too, without waking up once from a nightmare. Instead, he dreamed of Trish, of her sunny smile and of better times.

When he woke up, he felt the emptiness again. But at least he still had his memories of her.

And he had Zeke, who was, admittedly, still a dumbass who was pretty occupied with that new nurse girlfriend of his, though if he needed him, he was there.

Cole looked up, surprised to see that he had already arrived at the park in the Historic. He had been pretty deep in thoughts if he didn't notice walking through half the city.

"Cole!" He lifted his head and glanced at Zeke, who stood besides Trish's grave. "Good to see you without a bunch of new bullet holes."

Cole chuckled. "Yeah. I was surprised it went so well. Only some shouting, not even a real threat."

"Guess he was still afraid of you then", Zeke assumed. "Hey, you know what?"

"No?"

"Harms told me that the Dustmen in the Warren have completely stopped harassing the people."

"Really?"

"Yup. He said there was even a bunch of 'em helping with the construction of a water treatment plant."

Cole's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Yeah. Little scrawny guy, someone called 'Ty' or something, he said his boss Heyes is grateful you picked off that killer for him."

Cole blinked. Huh. That went better than expected. Guess it really _was_ Alden who made the Dustmen into assholes.

"And more good news: The Reaper's been keeping low too", Zeke added. He lowered his glasses and threw a suggestive look towards Cole, eyebrows waggling. "Guess you made a real... _impression_ on Sasha, huh?"

The Conduit slapped his palm into his face. "Urgh", He mumbled. "Don't remind me."

"Aha! You're not denying!" Zeke burst out. "I want all the details!"

Cole scowled at him for a good few moments. "I did what every man who owed her something would have done. I thanked her, took my stuff- and hauled ass as fast as I could."

"You ran?"

"I really had no intention of sticking around. Geez- I don't want anything of Sasha within a six-foot radius of my person. Ever again."

Zeke glanced at him slightly disappointed. "And here I was expecting a real story."

Cole stared at him deadpan. "Don't make me zap you", he warned. "Another word of this and I will zap you, you know?"

"Eh", Zeke shrugged. "That doesn't scare me."

"Oh? Well, I know a whole lot about you I'm sure Rachel would just _love_ to hear."

His best friend paled. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me"

Both kept glaring at each other for several solid minutes, before both doubled over laughing.

"Damn, Cole!" Zeke gasped. "Just what I needed! This whole shituation has been grating on my nerves."

"Always a pleasure", the Conduit grinned. "Especially when the joke's on you, Z."

Zeke wanted to reply, but was cut off by Cole's phone ringing.

They blinked at each other, wondering just who it might be. Harms didn't want anything anymore from them for this day, and the others who had his number were either present- or dead.

Cole answered the call anyways. "Hello?" He asked.

" _Cole MacGrath?"_ A woman asked. The Conduit frowned.

"Who's there?"

" _My name is Lucy Kuo"_ , the woman replied. _"I worked with John White in the NSA. I would like to talk to you."_

* * *

 **Author: Despite its name, this is the last chapter. Special thanks to Dog, Sano Hibiki, DeliciousCookie and Noob6, who went out and troubled themselves reviewing.**

 **But I hope everybody else had a good read. Now I can go back to stare at my screen and wonder what to write next.**


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